Power Rangers Crystal Guardians Part One
by Evilness321
Summary: <html><head></head>In the Pacific Northwestern part of the USA, a cat loving college student is about to have her life rudely interrupted when a meteorite crashes in to a nearby hill late one night as she feeds her lovable felines...</html>
1. Chapter 1

**ower Rangers- Crystal Guardians**

**Chapter One:** **A Golden Secret**

Going outside to feed the cats at four in the morning, getting breakfast ready, and getting ready for college. This was a typical Tuesday and Thursday morning at the house that was on Bearing Street. Not a trouble in the world seemed to touch this little house. While the rest of the world spun without it, the little house just seemed to keep going with its' own schedule and time.

This little house was home to a young woman in her early twenties. This young woman aspired to be a writer, and an artist. Many of her classmates called her 'an artist with many trades.'

She was too ill to get a job at the time, so she had a lot of help with scholarships and student loans. When she wasn't studying or spending time with her cats, she was often found alone at the park writing or drawing, or listening to one form of music or another.

It wouldn't be right to say that she didn't have a social life. She did have friends, and she went to her local church regularly. She was very loyal to her friends and family, and they in turn were loyal to her. In fact, most of the people in the town thought of her as very amiable, and adamant about her beliefs and respected her for that.

It is on a peaceful Thursday morning when our story starts. Twenty three year old Christina Hopkins was walking out to her mailbox, which was on the corner of her yard closest to her driveway. She was five feet, three inches tall, and had chocolate brown hair with blonde highlights in it. Her eyes were a deep shade of violet, and she had a calm, unreadable expression on her face.

These were the qualities that Zephlin had been looking for in a human to become one of his warriors. Early one morning, he decided, after watching her for a very long time and observing her nature and qualities, that today was the day. His brother, Zephron, was on his way and he needed to gather the Power Rangers as quickly as possible.

Zephlin had come from another galaxy in search of these legendary warriors. He was around six feet tall, and he wore a silver tunic. The sash that held his tunic together was a dark shade of midnight blue. His hair went down to the middle of his back, and was silver as well. His eyes were a piercing shade of aqua blue. He watched as Christina stepped outside at the usual time, while it was still dark, and set out a couple bowls on the front porch of her house for her cats.

Zephlin was lucky it was still dark; otherwise she would have seen him already. He didn't want to be found yet; he would wait a little longer.

Christina felt an odd tingling on the back of her neck; at first it felt like a warning that someone might be watching her. But then she noticed the cool breeze rustling the pine trees on the corner and edges of her yard and reminded herself that nobody had tried robbing a house on this street for at least eighteen years. The last guy who tried robbing her neighbors' house was caught before he could get to the corner of the street.

Christina waited for her cats to come, and looked up at the sky, which still glittered with stars. A golden streak of light flitted across the sky suddenly and lit up the entire horizon as it traveled past the earth. She smiled slightly, and gave a small chuckle before looking back down at her cats, as one of them had rubbed up against her leg and knelt down to scratch its back gently.

The shooting star that Christina had seen was anything but a shooting star. It, in fact, had been a space ship that had found its place deep within the earths' crust just moments after she had seen it streaking by. The space ships' owner was Zephron, the older brother of Zephlin.

Zephron's hair was black, and his eyes were a deep shade of brown. His skin was sallow in color, and he wore black robes that made him look like a demon. Even the sash that held his robes together was black.

The ship around him was all mechanized, with the walls and ceilings echoing of dark pits and the floors of demon worlds. The snakes and serpents that wriggled across the trim of the walls, floors and ceilings looked eerily realistic, while there were no windows to even dampen the feeling of being in one of hells pits.

"Izor!" Zephron shouted.

A small, pot-bellied of a man came hustling over to bow before his master. His garb was shabby compared to that of his masters', wearing a simple gray shirt, pants and a black belt. His face was large and frightful, and his little beetle black eyes darted all over the room.

"Yes, my lord?" He asked, bowing nervously.

"Now that we are on Earth, we need to find the one that our spies have said would become the Gold Ranger and eliminate her before Zephlin reaches her." Zephron stated.

"Yes, my lord." The little man, Izor, bowed again, nodding his head.

"So, I want you to create me a monster that will be able to catch someone like her off guard. A monster that will not fail me." Zephron said seriously.

Izor bowed his head and went over to a corner of the room where a desk stood. His master watched as the pudgy little man set to work creating what he had demanded.

_Instead of one monster… I will create two_. Izor thought as he clapped his hands together and closed his eyes.

In the corner of the nearby wall to his left, two feminine shadows appeared. The shadows took form and color, and were revealed to be two young women with blazing red eyes, and ebony colored hair that was pulled back in a unique style for both.

The tallest one declared herself as Runri. She wore a white, sleeveless shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and what looked like a blue and white scarf tied around her waist. Around her neck was a blue choker with white opals hanging from it.

The smaller one announced herself as Yuki. She also wore a white, sleeveless shirt. She wore red jeans, and had a red and white scarf tied around her waist. She had a red choker around her neck with white diamonds hanging from it decoratively.

"What can we do for you, our master?" They both asked in unison.

"I want you to seek out this woman and kill her before Zephlin does." Zephron answered, his dark eyes glimmering.

The wall behind him lit up with the image of a young woman feeding a pack of cats on her front porch in the early hours of the morning.

"Her name is Christina Hopkins… That fool Zephlin has sighted her as the one who will become the Gold Ranger. You will dispose of her before he can revive her powers." Zephron paused. "Do not attack right away. Wait for the right moment… and if you see Zephlin, feel free to have whatever fun you may want with him. But remember, do not kill him… I want that pleasure to be left for myself."

"As you wish, master." Runri and Yuki bowed. "May we go start our mission now?"

"Yes. You are dismissed." Zephron nodded his head curtly.

The two girls grinned excitedly, bowed one last time, and vanished in two lines of black smoke.

"Izor…" Zephron said, and the chubby little man turned to face his master.

"Yes, my lord?" Izor asked. "My creations have your approval I would assume?"

"Yes. You did very well, Izor." Zephron nodded. "I have come to expect nothing but the best… But there is something about this planet earth that seems to undo even the best of the evil that is sent here, so I will not tolerate any failure on your part."

"Y-yes, my lord." Izor stammered.

"If you should fail, my apprentice Char will take your place, and you will be banished to Earth to live with the common folk." Zephron warned.

Izor bowed nervously.

"Do you understand, Izor?" Zephron demanded.

"Yes, I understand my master." Izor responded.

"Very good." Zephron said, "You may leave now."

Izor left in a hurry after his master turned his back to him.

Runri and Yuki both had found Christina walking to her college, backpack slung over her shoulders in a casual manner. Christina wore a golden-yellow long sleeved shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white tennis shoes. On her right wrist was a silver watch that seemed to be two sizes two big for her.

The two demon girls, Runri and Yuki took the form of crows. The only thing that would distinguish them as otherwise was their red eyes, and the markings around their necks. They followed Christina, hardly daring to believe that she was the one who might become the Gold Ranger if they let her. The two waited until Christina was standing on the corner of the street waiting to cross before they decided to make a first attempt at attacking.

Christina had noticed the two crows in the pine tree nearby just sitting there and shrugged. There were plenty of crows in town these days. When the crows took off to the sky, she noticed that they flew above her, but was surprised when the crows landed in front of her just as she took a step towards the road. She looked at them curiously, noting that they had red eyes.

There was a flash of black light, and the crows turned into Runri and Yuki. The two women smiled at the flabbergasted Christina as she took a step backward.

"Hello, I'm Runri." The tallest girl said.

"And I'm Yuki." The smaller girl told Christina.

"I hope you don't mind, but we are here to kill you." Runri smiled, bearing her teeth maliciously.

"What?" Christina blinked, stumbling backwards entirely now.

"Maybe you're deaf?" Yuki suggested. "My sister and I are here to kill you."

"W-why…?" Christina asked. "And I am _not_ deaf!" She snapped.

"Could've fooled us." Runri's eyes glittered in the daylight of the early morning.

"We need to kill you because we can't have you becoming the Gold Ranger and ruining all of our masters' hard work." Yuki stepped forward. "It's nothing personal against you, we're just doing what our master ordered." She bent down to be at eye-level with Christina.

Nearby, Zephlin stared at the two women who were about to attack Christina. He had to do some serious quick thinking; otherwise Christina would die before she was able to fully understand why they wanted her dead. Then an idea came to him.

Yuki stood back up, and reached for her scarf. She pulled it all the way off her waist, and it transformed into a red and white whip. Runri did the same, only her whip was blue and white.

"And now you die." The two demon women said in unison, raising their whips high into the air.

Christina raised her hands to defend herself, waiting for the blow to come… But it never did.

"What?" Runri and Yuki shouted in anger and dismay.

"Where'd the little runt go?" Runri looked around. "She can't already be a Power Ranger, can she?"

"No, the master would have said something!" Yuki said, almost in a panicked toned of voice.

"I'm afraid that was my doing." Zephlin stepped out of the nearby shadows.

"Darn you, you old fart!" Yuki said angrily. "Now Master Zephron will be mad at us unless you give her back so that we can finish the job."

"Unfortunately, I cannot do that." Zephlin grinned slightly. "I won't say where she is, either. However, you are free to look for her." He faded away as a heavy gust of wind forced the two demon girls to take the forms of crows again and hide in the trees.

"Stupid old fart… Why'd he have to ruin our fun?" Runri growled.

"Don't worry… That little runt of a girl can't have gone far…" Yuki said, looking around.

Christina lowered her arms and looked around. She seemed to be in a mystical forest of some kind. A waterfall was in front of her, and the water fell into a small pool. There was a large silver stone that seemed to be floating in the center of this pool and directly in front of the waterfall. The stone looked as though a fully-grown man could stand atop of it without a problem. The water seemed to be crystal clear, and she swore as she looked into the water, she could see all the way to the bottom of the pool.

As she looked around even more, she saw that she was in a clearing surrounded by cherry blossom trees and rose bushes. She took off her backpack and laid it on the ground near the edge of the pool of water. The grass beneath her feet looked like it was healthy, being a beautiful shade of deep emerald green.

On the side of the clearing exactly opposite of the waterfall and the pool, was a large gray boulder that seemed to be carved into what looked like a chair for a giant to sit in. As she got closer, she saw that there was a single, beautifully carved box sitting in the center of what would have been the seat for a giant to sit in. The box was small, about the size of two large hardcover books almost. And it was very smooth as she ran her hand over the top of it.

"I suppose you are wondering why you have been brought here?" A deep, calming and assuring male voice came from behind, startling her and making her jump slightly.

She turned and saw a tall man standing on the stone that floated in the pool. He wore unusual garb: silver robes, a dark sash. Even his hair was silver.

To tell the truth, the reason why she had been brought here hadn't even crossed her mind. She had still been taking in the scenery and just wondering where she was.

"Uh…" She said quietly. "Who are you…?"

"I am Zephlin, Christina… And I will be your guardian from this point on as you fulfill your duties as the Gold Ranger." Zephlin told her this as though he were pronouncing her the scholarship winner of a Bill Gates Scholarships Contest.

Christina blinked.

"Gold Ranger…? What's that? And how do you know my name?" She asked.

Zephlin chuckled. The box that was on the chair-shaped boulder disappeared and reappeared in his hands.

"You are a Power Ranger… The Gold Ranger, to be precise, Christina. And I know your name because I have been watching you for a very long time… I needed to determine if you were the one that would become the leader of the Rangers of Elysion. And I know that you are the Gold Ranger." Zephlin said.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Christina said. "Power Ranger…? But they don't even exist! That's just a television program or something."

Again, Zephlin chuckled. He opened the box. Inside of it were five silver watches.

"You do not believe me now, but you will soon." He told her confidently.

She blinked incredulously at him.

"This must be some crazy dream or something… I can't be a Power Ranger…" She told him defiantly. "Maybe I stayed up too late watching movies…"

"This is no dream." Zephlin looked at her adamantly. "Take the watch in the center." He instructed her.

She stepped forward slowly, still thinking that she must be dreaming… Maybe she was sleepwalking. For all she knew, she could be lying face down in the middle of the street somewhere… If so, she hoped she remembered to get dressed first. Once she took the watch he had instructed, it disappeared.

"What happened to it?" She asked.

"Look on your right wrist…" He told her.

She did so, and saw that her watch had changed. There was a gold band around the small clock, and the clock itself looked like it could be pressed down like a button. She blinked several times to see if it wouldn't just disappear, but it never did.

"The Powers have accepted you." Zephlin said solemnly. "When you need to transform, press down on your watch and shout 'Elysion Gold Ranger Transform.' " He instructed.

"I don't know where you're coming from with this… But I don't think I can be a Power Ranger, Zephlin." She told him bluntly.

"You will see." He nodded at her. "Whether or not you are meant to become a great warrior or not."

"Um… Okay… Next question? How do I get out of here? If I don't hurry… I'll be late for my college classes." Christina looked at him.

"The watch has many purposes… not only can you transform with it, but by pressing the smallest knob on the side of the watch, you can teleport to which ever destination you desire. The largest knob enables you to communicate with me."

She looked, and indeed saw two golden knobs on the side of her watch. They looked just like ordinary watch knobs, except for the size differences.

"So the smallest one is teleportation… the largest one is communication… and the clock itself is transformation…" She recited.

"Yes." Zephlin nodded, thinking, or rather hoping, that she was at last believing him.

"And am I dismissed?" She looked at him.

"For now, yes." Zephlin nodded. "If trouble rises, I will contact you." He told her.

She picked up her backpack, slung it over her shoulders, and pressed the smallest golden knob on the side of her watch. She immediately felt herself lifting up and off the ground and saw herself become engulfed in a golden column of light that took her from Zephlins' forest clearing, to a point just behind a pair of bushes just off to the side of the college that she attended classes at.

Just as she was checking to see and make sure that no one saw her coming, she heard some cawing from behind and whirled around. But it was just a pair of regular crows this time, she could tell by the color of their eyes and the fact that the crows' feathers were completely black.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, unless you counted the fact that test scores were back and she got straight 'A's in all of her classes now. She was on her way home when Runri and Yuki showed their faces again. They were standing on the corner of her street, obviously waiting for her.

"There you are, we've been waiting all day for you." Runri said.

"We couldn't really leave without completing our mission, now could we?" Yuki smirked, her red eyes gleaming with excitement.

"That old fart Zephlin interrupted our fun… But now we can finish our little game of the roller coaster of death." Runri said in a singsong tone of voice that greatly annoyed Christina. "What do you say, little runt? Wanna play?"

"I don't think so…" Christina said, setting her backpack down on the ground. She was amazed that she still remembered the transformation call that Zephlin had instructed her to use, but she knew now was the time to use it, if any. "Elysion Gold Power Ranger… Transform!" She shouted, holding her middle and pointer finger down onto the clock as she held her wrists up into the air, following her instincts as to what to do.

She immediately felt a rush of power flow through her, and she saw herself transform into the suit that she had come to recognize over the years as she grew up, as that of a Power Ranger. She wore a golden spandex suit with black stripes all up and down her arms, sides and legs. On her waist was a black belt with two gun holsters, and two golden blasters settled in each of them. On her back she could feel two sheaths in an 'x' fashion mounted on her back. She had a helmet, which she guessed was gold, and she could see clearly through her visor screen, which she guessed was black.

"What?" Runri and Yuki said in dismay. "No way!"

"Oh, yes way." Christina said, "This is too awesome." She looked at her gloves that covered her hands; they were gold as well and had black trim.

Zephlin smiled proudly.

"Use your blasters, they will destroy the Demon Twins' weapons." He instructed.

"Roger that." Christina said enthusiastically. She pulled the blasters out of their holsters and aimed at the Demon Twins' hands and fired. Golden streaks of light came from the blasters, and connected with Runri and Yuki's wrists.

Runri and Yuki both let out cries of pain as they realized what was happening.

"That isn't the only trick up our sleeves, you little runt!" Runri shouted. She raised her right hand to the air.

"That's right, we've got lots more!" Yuki agreed, also raising her right hand.

"Demon Veil!" They shouted, and from the sky came a bolt of black lightning.

"Zephlin, what do I do…?" Christina asked, looking around in the darkness.

"You are the guardian of the Sun and the Moon, Christina." Zephlin explained. "You draw your powers from light… Use your swords to call forth your Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower."

"Gotcha!" Christina said, putting her blasters back into their holsters.

She reached for the swords mounted on her back and unsheathed them. The hilts seemed to be made of gold, and the swords looked as if they were made in the rapier fashion. _This is going to be good_. She thought, raising the swords to the sky.

"Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower!" She shouted. The swords began to glow a golden yellow, and a column of light shot from both of them as though from a gun into space. Then, a meteor shower of light came shooting down to earth faster than what Runri and Yuki could have expected. The light showered down, breaking apart their Demon Veil, and tearing them up as well.

They could feel their bodies ripping apart as the light connected with them.

"Ouch, this hurts!" Runri said, shielding her face.

"I… I think we'd better go now." Yuki stammered.

"Yes, I agree… Lets vamoose, shall we?" Runri said, and the two sisters vanished.

Christina looked where the sisters had been standing moments later, and sheathed her swords. She could feel the power within her, and it was still unbelievable.

"Christina… Well done. Come back to the clearing." Zephlins' voice seemed to fill her helmet. It was still soft, calm and assuring, but there was a sense of pride to it.

Christina looked at her wrist. Her watch was still there, and she pressed the smallest golden knob for the second time. She felt herself once again teleporting to her next destination. This time, to Zephlins' Clearing.

Within seconds, she was standing before her new guardian.

"You did very well in your first battle, Christina." Zephlin smiled at her. "Your journey is just beginning, but I believe that I should expect great things from you as you continue to grow and develop in your skills. This was just the start of what you will be facing, but you do not have to face the monsters on your own."

"I don't?" Christina asked, still in her Ranger uniform, but feeling excited all the same.

"No. There are four other rangers that you will need to seek out. Seek them out, and bring them here. Once you are united as one team, then your true mission will begin." Zephlin said.

"Where are the others?" Christina asked.

"I am afraid that is something I cannot answer. You will know who the rest of your team is once you see them." Zephlin replied calmly with a short nod. "Now, you have done well, as I have stated earlier. I am very proud of you. Have you come to accept that you are the Gold Ranger?"

"Yes. I will do my best to fulfill my duties, and I pledge my loyalties to you, Zephlin." Christina answered, her hands folded behind her back almost in military fashion as she stood at attention.

Zephlin smiled and nodded.

"Good… Good…" He said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: I'd Rather Stand Alone Part One**

Zephron's anger seemed to fill the entire room, and Runri and Yuki were cowering in a far corner, away from their master, whose rigid back was facing them.

"Master, we are sorry!" Runri said.

"Do you know why I am angry with you two?" Zephron asked coldly.

"We underestimated the Gold Rangers' capabilities." Yuki admitted.

"It is because you failed…!" Zephron whirled around on the spot. "I said I would not tolerate failure on this mission! One more failure like this, and you will get much worse than what awaits Izor if he fails again. You must move quickly if you are to undo this blunder of yours, Runri and Yuki."

"Yes, my master!" The two women said in unison before bowing and vanishing.

"They disappoint me." Zephron grumbled out loud to himself. "If Izor cannot create better servants, then we might as well welcome those filthy Power Rangers of Elysion on our doorstep!"

"My Lord, can't I have a whack at the Rangers?" A small, male voice with a heavy British accent said from behind him, where his observant screen was place.

"Patience, Char." Zephron said, though he was smirking. "You'll get your chance. And when you do… Those Rangers will rue the day they decided to oppose me."

"Of course, My Lord." The voice said, now with a slight cocky-ness to it.

Christina was currently sitting at a picnic table with a stack of books surrounding her. She still wore her silver watch, and considering the sun was right in her eyes, she wore a pair of black sunglasses with a light gold frame around them. Today she wore a plain yellow shirt, with a black jacket considering there was a slight breeze in the air. She wore her usual pair of dark blue jeans, and her white tennis shoes as well. Her hair was loose, and hanging a little beyond the middle of her back. Nearby was a can of diet Pepsi. She had a pen in her right hand, and was writing down something about grammar – as she had signed up for various English classes at the college she currently attended.

Being a Power Ranger had escaped her mind the minute she stepped into her first English class at around seven forty five in the morning that day. And with the lesson that ensued, she completely forgot about the previous days' occurrences. Lessons were over now, and she was spending her free time doing homework in the gardens that were at the back of the college.

"Back out here again, eh?"

A voice that Christina had no trouble recognizing came from somewhere behind her, and a shadow over lapped her.

"Would you mind moving, Spike?" She snapped. "You are in my way."

"I'm sorry." The man, Spike, said. Though he didn't sound sorry at all.

Spike Reynolds was the same age as Christina. In fact, they had grown up together, even though they were always at odds with each other. Spike always got a kick out of teasing or causing her grief of some form or another. He was taller than her, and had shoulder-length light brown hair. His eyes were a piercing cobalt blue. He wore an aqua blue shirt, dark blue jeans, and black shoes.

"I'm surprised you decided to show your face under the light of the sun." Spike said, reading what she was writing.

"Aren't you supposed to be going to a morgue or something, Spike?" Christina shot back at him as she turned the page. "Along with the rest of your gang of stupid people?"

"Who's calling who stupid?" Spike asked, picking up her notebook that she was writing in. "Why in the world do you have to write every single thing the instructor says? And then write it again…?"

"It helps me memorize the lecture better, now give it back already please?" Christina stood up. Unfortunately, Spike was much taller than her, and all he had to do was raise his hands up a few feet into the air and she wouldn't be able to grab it back.

"Stupid _and_ short…" Said Spike, grinning.

Christina tried jumping up to reach her homework, but it only made her feel stupid so she quickly desisted from it.

"Give it back, please." She asked again, with as much politeness as she could muster in the current situation. She wished that she could magically grow about three more feet at times like these, and then she'd just be able to reach over and grab her papers back.

"Too short to reach them?" Spike said with a cocky grin.

"I'm not." Said another male voice from behind Spike.

Christina grinned.

Ray had turned up on the scene. Ray was their same age, and he wore a green t-shirt shirt, blue jeans, and dark shoes.

"Don't you ever get tired of picking on her, Spike?" He asked, his green eyes looking at the two. Ray easily plucked the notebook from Spike's hands and handed them back to their owner, who was very glad to get them back.

"Not really." Spike answered with a shrug.

"You really need to grow up…" Ray said bluntly.

"I think you're asking for a miracle, there, Ray." Christina said, sitting back down at her table.

"I can grow up when I want to, unlike someone I know who hasn't grown beyond five feet tall." Spike snapped. "See you around, Ray." He said, and then he left.

"You know, it's hard to believe that you are friends with that jerk." Christina said after Spike was well out of earshot.

"Hey, Spike's not too bad once you get to know him." Ray sat down on the table with her.

Christina gave a very un-ladylike, and disbelieving snort - as though she didn't think that anyone that unbelievably rude and annoying could ever be considered kind or decent. She then heard a strangely familiar caw cawing from the nearby blue spruce pine trees that usually gave her a decent shade. She looked up and saw two crows with blazing red eyes staring beadily down at her, as though they were birds of prey preparing for the killer dive. Then she remembered.

She pretended to suddenly look at her watch, as though she were panicked about the time – which happened a lot so it was nothing new to Ray – before sitting up abruptly and gathering her things, before tossing them into her backpack which was stored underneath the picnic table.

"I just remembered I have something I need to do, so I'll see you later, okay Ray?" She said, slinging her backpack over her shoulders and grabbing her soda pop can.

"Yeah, sure." Ray nodded, though he looked slightly curious, he did not ask what was the sudden rush. He decided to go meet Spike at the park as originally planned.

Christina was walking alone through town, knowing that she was being followed and deciding to take a round-a-bout route to her home to see if she could throw off her pursuers.

Runri looked at Yuki, and the two nodded. They decided to do away with their crow forms, and appeared in front of Christina with smiles on their faces.

"Hello." Runri said.

"We've come to finish our little game." Yuki's smile broadened.

"You know… These sudden appearances are really starting to annoy me." Christina said, looking at the two girls.

"Oh don't complain too much." Yuki cocked her head to the left slightly.

"Yeah, soon you'll be dead so you won't have much to complain about." Runri pointed out in her annoying singsong tone of voice.

Christina gave an annoyed sigh. If she thought there was anyone who couldn't be as annoying as Spike, then she now knew that she was wrong. Runri and Yuki were now placed at the top of her 'people that most annoy me' list.

"Well, you can certainly try to get rid of me, but I'm not going to say that you'll succeed… I happen to have goals in my life that I want to fulfill, and I'm not going to let you two Queen Idiots stop me…" She placed her backpack on the ground again thinking that judging by the outlook of things, she'd be doing this a lot. She then raised her hands into the air, and pressed down on her 'clock,' shouting "Elysion Gold Ranger… Transform!"

"You must be really eager to die, Gold Ranger." Yuki said, pulling out her whip again.

"It's amazing how quickly she can go from a short, stupid defenseless little girl to just being short and stupid…" Runri smirked, pulling out her whip again as well. "The only qualities worth noting only show up when you've transformed."

"Once I'm through with you, I'll be making you eat your own words." Christina shot back. She decided to skip the use of her blasters, and unsheathed her swords, which she found she rather liked. Privately, she was glad that she had taken fencing lessons during high school; otherwise she wouldn't have known the first thing to do with these swords.

"So… The new question is, are you afraid of the dark?" Runri and Yuki asked.

"The question _should_ be: Are you afraid of the light?" Christina retorted. This caused some curiosity in Runri and Yuki. This time, it wouldn't be her being caught by surprise, but them. At least she hoped so.

Runri and Yuki acted quickly when they saw Christina preparing for her attack. Yuki leapt over Christina, whip in hand, and made sure that the Ranger was surrounded on two sides.

"Ice Whip!" Yuki shouted, and Christina found herself being caught in Yuki's whip, which wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Black Lightning!" Runri said, and her whip too was soon wrapped tightly around the Ranger before she had a chance to attack.

Spike and Ray had heard a commotion as they were walking down the streets of the town. They were talking about the days' lessons at college, but decided to put that on hold to see what was going on. They hid behind a couple of fairly large trees once they got close enough, and what they saw astonished them.

"What is that?" Ray asked.

"It's a Power Ranger…" Spike whispered back.

"How do you know? And which one?" Ray asked.

"The center one… See? Look at her uniform and weapons." Spike whispered, pointing. "I just always thought that they were fake."

They watched as the two assailants with whips shouted some strange words that sounded like incantations. The shortest females' whip started to glow an icy blue, while the taller females' whip seemed to radiate with electricity.

There was an explosion, and the Power Ranger had fallen to all fours.

"I think she needs help…" Spike muttered.

"You think, genius? But what do we do?" Ray asked, using high sarcasm with the first part of what he said.

Zephlin had watched in silence as the event unfolded. He was surprised to find that two new Rangers had appeared so quickly, even if they – like Christina – didn't know that they were Rangers yet. He decided to summon the two young men to the clearing just as he had done with Christina the previous day.

Ray and Spike suddenly felt themselves lifting off the ground at an incredible speed.

"What the heck's going on here?" Spike asked. "X-Files or something?"

"It seems pretty real to me." Ray answered. "Even if this is outrageous…"

Next thing they knew, they were in the clearing in front of the waterfall and pool, face-first into the grass.

"Nice of you young men to drop in." A voice said, surprising them both.

They jumped to their feet instantly, only to see what obviously looked like an older men wearing strange clothes.

"Who's the old geezer?" Spike whispered to Ray.

"I don't know, don't ask me…" Ray replied, just as befuddled as Spike was.

"My name is Zephlin. And you two have been summoned here to fulfill your destiny as Power Rangers." Zephlin said with an odd twinkle in his eyes.

"What?" Spike blinked, nonplussed.

"Your desire to help the Gold Ranger, and even your willingness to do so… That is the sign of one who will eventually rise as a Power Ranger. But you must hurry… The Gold Ranger cannot last much longer on her own." Zephlin opened the box that was in his hands that Ray and Spike just realized was there.

"Spike, you will take the watch with the blue band around its' clock… and Ray, you will take the watch with the green band around its' clock… I will explain to you the full purposes of the watches after your battle is done and over with." Zephron said with a short nod.

"Ok… So how do we transform?" Ray asked, picking his watch and watching it as it vanished and reappeared around his right wrist.

"Ray, hold your hands to the sky, press down on the 'clock' and say 'Elysion Green Ranger Transform.' Spike, your actions will be the same… Only you will say 'Elysion Blue Ranger Transform.' " Zephron said. "Then you must teleport yourselves to the place of the current conflict. To do that, you just need to press the smallest knob on your watches."

"Right." Ray muttered, nodding his head.

"Don't tell me you actually believe him, Ray?" Spike said.

"You were the one who said that that person in the gold outfit was a Power Ranger, remember?" Ray snapped.

"Uh… Yeah." Spike said, though he still looked doubtful, even as Ray stated he was going to see if the whole transformation thing actually worked.

"Elysion Green Ranger… Transform!" Ray found himself bellowing, doing as Zephron had instructed. His uniform was all a deep shade of green, with his belt being black. On his back was mounted a bow, and a quiver of arrows. He had two dark green and white blasters in holsters on his belt as well.

"Well… If it worked for you, it'll probably work for me… I'll give it a shot." Spike said, looking at his 'watch.'

Zephron watched as Spike transformed into the blue Ranger. His weapons were the traditional blasters, but he also had an extendable aqua marine staff that could also be used for other purposes.

"Good, now hurry and teleport yourselves to help your fellow Ranger." Zephron told them.

"You got it." Ray said almost immediately afterwards.

It took a few moments, but Christina got slowly back up to her feet. _All right… Plan 'a' didn't work… Best move on to Plan 'b.' _She sheathed her swords, and pulled out her blasters. Even if she liked her swords better, her other weapons still had their uses. She aimed one at Runri, the other at Yuki and fired. This distracted the two long enough for Christina to leap out of the reach of their whips.

"Stubborn little runt, isn't she?" Runri growled.

"Oh, definitely." Yuki nodded, imitating her sisters' voice. "This is turning out to be a lot more fun than I ever expected. It'll be _so_ satisfying once we kill her…"

Christina put her blasters back into their holsters, and again unsheathed her swords, deciding to go out on an all-out offensive.

"Sorry, but I'm not planning on dying anytime soon… As I already told you." Christina said, feeling annoyed at the fact that she seemed to keep having to repeat herself. She was beginning to wonder who it really was that was deaf. She got her swords in the attack stance, and then ran at Runri and Yuki.

Her blades cut into them as she ran towards, and a little beyond. As she passed, her swords glowed a bright golden-yellow, and made an eerie kind of 'nails on a chalkboard' sound as they passed through the air. Next thing Runri and Yuki knew, they were the ones eating dirt and not the Gold Ranger, as they had intended.

"All right, now I'm mad." Runri said, standing up and grabbing her whip.

"Little runts' got me ticked off too…" Yuki agreed, getting to her feet.

"Ready for a double attack?" Runri asked as Yuki got her whip.

"You betcha." Yuki nodded, but stopped because it made her feel as though she were swimming in water. Which was a feeling that she didn't like.

They both raised their whips into the air, and the two of them were soon glowing like red Christmas lights. Christina could guess what was going on, and she braced herself.

"Azure Ice Lightning!" Runri and Yuki shouted.

"Aqua hurricane!"

Two male voices that Christina had no trouble in recognizing shouted suddenly.

Several green streaks of light, a large column of aqua-blue light prevented Runri and Yuki's attack from ever reaching Christina. She looked to the direction of the attacks – and so did Runri and Yuki – and saw two new Power Rangers standing off to the left of the actual battle.

"Need a hand, there?" An obvious Green Ranger said.

"You look like you could use some help." The Blue Ranger stepped forward a bit.

_Not him…_ She thought, feeling irritated. _If this is some sort of cosmic joke… It's not funny._

"Darn it… More runts!" Yuki said angrily.

"Yeah… They just seem to be popping up everywhere, don't they?" Runri glared at the new comers.

"Not to mention we're out numbered now…" Yuki pointed out.

"Well, as I always say: One good point deserves another." The Green Ranger said, fitting two arrows to his bow and aiming them at Runri and Yuki. "Lightning Arrow Strike!" He said just as he released his arrows. His arrows made contact with the ground just at Runri and Yuki's feet.

"Looks like you missed, little boy." Runri smirked.

"Too bad… Looks like you need to work on your aiming skills." Yuki cocked her head, grinning widely.

"I think you be in for a shocking surprise…" The Green Ranger said.

Christina blinked as she watched the arrows react to the ground at Runri and Yuki's feet. The arrows seemed to be full of energy, as they began to spark and fizz like a lightning bolt. Then all of a sudden, the two demon girls were engulfed by green lightning, which exploded all around the two.

"Get my point?" The Green Ranger said in a cocky tone that obviously irritated the two demon girls.

"I wouldn't say that." Runri said, getting up to her feet even though she looked rather battered.

"Ditto." Yuki nodded, looking as though she had gotten the worst of the Green Rangers' attack.

"Nice one." The Blue Ranger complimented his friends' efforts to subdue the demon girls. "Now it's my turn." He aimed the top of his staff at the demon girls as though he were aiming a gun, then shouted "Azure hurricane!"

A wave of blue light erupted from the ground and headed towards the heavens before aiming itself at Runri and Yuki.

"Shield of Memories!" Runri and Yuki shouted. The two of them were engulfed by a dome of red and blue light just seconds before the Blue Rangers' attack reached them. The two energies collided and exploded on impact with each other.

Christina frowned, though no one saw it.

"Maybe if we combine our powers we'll be able to defeat those two." She suggested.

"Yeah, makes sense… But how do we do that?" The Green Ranger asked.

"By calling our attacks all at once…" The Blue Ranger said, readying his staff.

"Gotcha." The Green Ranger nodded, fitting two more arrows to his bow.

Christina readied her twin swords, aiming them to the sky. They each said their attack names, the Blue Ranger starting off first. The wave of attacks that ensued afterwards seemed incredible to Runri and Yuki, who thought it best to retreat for the time being again. But they knew that they could not return to their master until their job was finished, so they decided to wait until Christina was un-morphed, and back into her normal life-style.

The three Power Rangers teleported to Zephlins' Clearing in the forest, where he waited with a proud expression on his face. By the time Christina got there, she was feeling rather glum. What would Spike say – if that was indeed Spike behind that Blue Ranger helmet and uniform – once he realized whom the Gold Ranger really was? She had the strong feeling he wouldn't be as eager to help out or be a Power Ranger once he did find out.

The Blue and Green Rangers de-morphed, and stood in their 'normal' forms.

"So, you know who we are… Now who are you?" Spike demanded, rather than asking.

Christina looked over at Zephlin, still rather unsure, but he gave the slightest of nods that only she could see and she de-morphed as well.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Spike wasted no time in letting his opinion to be known to them all. "_She_'_s_ the Gold Ranger?"

"And the perfect candidate for being the Gold Ranger." Zephlin said sternly, in a tone that told Spike that his argument would've been a lost case before he even let his words pass through his lips. Spike had the feeling that, even though Zephlin was kind and wise, he was not one to cross unless it was for a _very_ good reason.

He was right. Zephlin seemed to decide that now was the best time to give them all a talking-to about something.

"I can understand that you have a history between you, and that will help you in the battles to come. You must work together as a team in order to beat the evil that threatens this world. And you must _never_ under _any_ circumstance, give out your true identity as a Power Ranger." Zephlin said, looking at all three of them.

"So… Is this all there is? Just the three of us?" Ray asked.

"No." Zephlin said. "There are still more out there… You will find them, or they will find you, as what happened today."

"Um… Sorry, old geezer, but I don't think I want to do this whole 'team work' thing." Spike said. Christina saw him glace, however briefly, at her. "I'd rather fight on my own."

"There are benefits to teamwork, Spike. You fought perfectly well with your comrades just a few minutes ago, did you not?" Zephlin said.

_Touché_. Christina thought, suppressing a smirk with great difficulty. She felt a strange sense of wonderful satisfaction at Zephlin telling Spike off, in his own way, but it was still meant to put Spike in his place.

"You must learn to work together with your teammates as one. That is the key to defeating the evil that you will face in the near future." Zephron told them all, he looked at each of them in the eye giving the three the eerie feeling that their very souls were being x-rayed.

Spike remained stonily silent. Even though he did not dare to speak his opinion, he found another way to make it known that he was not pleased about the teammate arrangements. Ray was giving him a look, which highly irritated him that said: _You really need to grow up, Spike_.

Christina sighed irritably.

"Will you two knock it off?" She snapped quite suddenly, and quite unexpected.

"Christina's right." Zephlin nodded. "You _must_ work together as one… The situation we are in isn't a regular one, but rather a crisis. If the rest of your team is not found, then your world could suffer the same fate as others…" He looked at him.

"And that would be…?" Spike couldn't contain himself.

"_BEHAVE _yourself, Spike." Christina said so angrily that it caught even Ray by surprise.

"You know something that we don't?" Spike looked at her suspiciously.

"I know no more than you do, Mr. Reynolds." Christina held herself up defiantly. "But I _trust_ Zephlin, and I _trust_ the fact that he knows what he is doing and that he will tell us his intentions in due time."

"Feh… Whatever." Spike looked away, clearly not convinced.

Ray sighed in a helpless manner. Zephlin looked irritated, and gave them another talking-to before dismissing them.

Christina returned to the location where she had set down her backpack after making sure no one would see her teleporting in out of nowhere. She slung her backpack over her shoulders in her usual manner, after checking to make sure that everything was still there, and headed off towards her home. She was in a particularly foul, and stressed mood now.

Sure, being a Power Ranger was fine and dandy, and she got to work with fellow Rangers, but she also had to work with the person she least enjoyed being around. She didn't hate Spike, but she didn't like him either. He had always picked on her for no reason, ever since Elementary school. Now she just avoided him whenever she could, but being a Power Ranger and being on the same team as he was in… Well, she didn't want to think of the chaos that would ensue within the team because the two of them couldn't get along for more than five minutes.

She thought about all of this as she walked around the corner to get to her street, Bearing Street.

Runri and Yuki were now in their crow forms, and had watched as the gold column of light descended at an angle from the sky, and Christina had descended to retrieve her bag. They followed her, from high up in the air, to her home, and made _their_ home in a fairly large and thick blue spruce pine tree nearby to keep an eye on her

"Little miss runt down there seems to be in a pretty foul mood now." Runri said, red eyes glittering.

"Oh yes… I think we should go and 'cheer her up.' " Yuki flapped her wings in her excitement.


	3. Chapter 2 Part 2

**Chapter Two: I'd Rather Stand Alone Part 2**

It had been a day or two, and Christina had made plans for the weekend to have her friend over for a movie party. She was hoping that her elder sister, Elione would show up too, but Elione had forwarded a message saying that her work wouldn't let her take the weekend off. So now, it was just Christina and her friend since childhood.

Her friend was Jacquie Simpson, and she lived in the next town over from Christina, which was a half an hour away. She was taller than Christina by a foot, and she had blonde hair – which she dyed a dark chocolate brown color a long time ago – that went to the middle of her back. She liked a lot of the same things that Christina did, only her favorite color was silver, and she was the same age as well.

Christina had been busy all day on Saturday getting her house ready for the extra company. She was glad that she had an extra room; otherwise she wouldn't have known where her friend would've been able to sleep. Jacquie had suggested that she sleep on the floor once when she was living in an apartment house, but Christina wouldn't hear it. So they eventually settled on getting an air-mattress bed in the living room from one of the neighbors.

Now Christina didn't have that problem, since she was in college, and had published a few novels that she made a few bucks off of already.

Today, she finally finished cleaning and cooking around noon. She had her front door open to let in some fresh air. She actually had two front doors: one was on the outside, which could be converted to a screen door, or a glass door. The other was just a regular door on the inside of the house, which she currently had open, and had the front door as a screen door. She hummed a soft tune as she waited and caught her breath.

When the doorbell rang around an hour later, she had expected it to be her friend, but she didn't hear a car pull up to her driveway. Instead, it wasn't who she thought it would be.

"Ray! What're you doing here?" She asked in surprise.

"Just coming to see how you were doing." Ray said. "I know Spike said some pretty nasty things, and I know how you can be. So I just came to check up on you."

"Nah," Christina said off-handedly. "To tell you the truth, I had actually forgotten all about that. I'm waiting for a friend to come over shortly…" She looked out anxiously past him at the road.

"Jacquie?" Ray guessed right.

"Yup. Haven't seen her in ages, and she said she'd be able to come this weekend." Christina nodded.

"I see." Ray looked out at the road as well. "Well, since you're doing alright, I might as well get back to my home and to that schoolwork."

"You haven't done the assignments yet? I'm already finished." Christina said in mild surprise.

"Yeah, well, being teleported out to the middle of nowhere and being told you've been selected to be a Power Ranger can have that effect on some people." Ray said sarcastically. "Anyways, see you around."

"Yup. See you." Christina nodded as Ray turned to leave. She went back to sit down on her couch again.

"Izor!" Zephron bellowed.

The fat little man called Izor came into the dungeon quickly.

"I want you to create or summon a new demon. One that won't fail me as your pitiful Runri and Yuki have." Zephron said, turning to face Izor.

"Yes, my master." Izor bowed his head nervously before going to his corner in the dungeon. "I will summon the bounty huntress Hanri Yu'ushi."

"I have heard of her." Zephron said thoughtfully.

"Yes… But we must have a price, otherwise she will refuse to work for us… and Miss Hanri is a _very_ pricey bounty huntress to employ." Izor warned.

"It doesn't matter… I will pay whatever she asks… We need the power that those Rangers carry…" Zephron glared at Izor dangerously.

"My Lord… Might I ask why destroying those Power Rangers is so important?" Izor asked a little tentatively.

"The power that the Rangers hold within themselves is the key to awakening the Crystal of Elysion…" Zephron answered.

"And what is this Crystal of Elysion? What is it about this Crystal that holds my masters' attention so?" Izor asked almost in a riddle-like tone of voice now.

"The Crystal of Elysion is the one thing that is holding this galaxy together in one piece. It encompasses all that which a galaxy is made of… the holder of that crystal can create and destroy their own galaxies. If I gain possession of that crystal, I will be able to eventually create a universe all my own." Zephron explained. "And the draining the Rangers of their powers is the only way of forcing the Crystal to show itself… And when it does, I will take it for myself."

"I see…" Izor bowed his head, then set to work on summoning the bounty huntress Hanri Yu'ushi, who he had complete a bounty once for him before.

"Ah, little master Izor." Said a female voice.

A woman who looked younger than she really was appeared in the same corner that Runri and Yuki had first made their appearance. This woman was Hanri Yu'ushi, the very bounty huntress that Izor had spoken of. She was about six feet tall, and had shoulder length black hair. She wore a long, black tailcoat over a long-sleeved black shirt, black pants, and black boots. She wore a black belt, onto which were tied two-sheathed twin swords with black and gold hilts. Her skin was pale, and sallow looking, while her violet eyes were alert and alive looking.

"Little master Izor, how long has it been? Five years to this day, no?" Hanri asked.

"I see you remember me." Izor smiled a wicked smile.

"Of course. I never forget a good employer." Hanri returned the smile.

"Well, I have another job for you if you'll take me up on my offer." Izor told her, his little eyes glittering with excitement.

There was almost a mad cawing outside of Christina's doorstop, and the sound of her cats hissing insanely. She rushed outside and saw Runri and Yuki standing there, apparently having caught her cats off guard.

"You again?" Christina said in exasperation. She knew immediately just by judging the looks on their faces that she would have a tough time handling them on her own, so she pulled up her wrist and called the person that was nearest and probably most willing to help. "Ray, can you hear me?" She called into her transmitter.

"Yeah, what's up?" Ray asked, his voice sounding surprised.

"Let's just say I've got some unwanted company on my premises right now and need a little assistance…" She told him. "I'd appreciate the help."

"I'm on my way…" Ray said.

"Finally let go of your little ego?" Hanri's eyes glittered, feeling that at last she and her sister would be able to complete their original objective.

"Have you?" Christina asked. She prepared to transform, but at that very moment, a silver S.U.V. pulled up to her drive. _Oh no…_ She thought, realizing the incredibly bad timing of the arrival of her friend, and knowing she very well could not transform in front of her.

Hanri and Yuki seemed to have noticed this, and raised their whips.

"Time Stopper!" They shouted.

Christina found herself frozen and could not move. _Great… What a jolly day this is gonna be_… She thought sarcastically. All she could do was watch as Runri and Yuki appeared on either side of her.

Jacquie had seen, but not believed. Her best friend was being attacked by two chicks with a _very_ bad sense of style when it came to clothing and hair… but she also saw that they were powerful enough to stop time. And that was scientifically impossible.

She stepped out of her vehicle and stared, wondering what she could do to help her friend. When two arrows seemed to come from nowhere, attacking the strange demon-like girls that had stopped time around her friend.

"Green guy again…?" Yuki growled as the Green Ranger fitted two more arrows to his bow.

The time was released around Christina, and she felt herself fall to the ground softly.

"You alright?" The Green Ranger rushed over to Christina after firing two more of his arrows to keep Hanri and Yuki at bay for a few moments. "Why haven't you fought back this time?"

"Uh… in case you didn't notice, I have an audience and I can't…" Christina said, indicating her friend as politely as she could without seeming rude.

"Oh, I see." The Green Ranger seemed to realize her situation, but a little too late.

"Azure Ice Lightning!" Runri and Yuki shouted, catching both Christina and the Green Ranger by surprise.

Jacquie saw Christina and the Green Ranger brace for the attack, but there was an explosion and the Green Ranger hastily prepared for a counter-attack. _I've got to do something… But what?_ She thought. The closest thing she could find that was usable as a weapon was a fairly decent sized rock… Then again, she was the best shot-putter of her team at college… She reached for the rock and prepared to aim it at the attackers.

"Hey, you with the bad fashion sense…!" She said, realizing how stupid this must have sounded, but it was the only thing she could think of to say that would get their attention.

The comment on the bad fashion senses certainly got Runri and Yuki's attentions.

"At least _our_ vehicle of choice doesn't look like a silver box." Runri snapped.

"Hey! I'm very proud of my silver box, for your information…" Jacquie retorted angrily, and affronted. She then 'tossed' her rock at the two demon girls, almost like it was a shot put. To her surprise, and everyone else's that was watching, except for Christina – but even her a little – the rock seemed to split into two, as it sped up faster and faster, and connected with Runri and Yuki's wrists, forcing them to let go of their whips.

"Wretched brat." Yuki said.

"Ok… That does it…" Christina said, standing up for she had to duck out of the way quickly as she watched Jacquie taking aim. Christina prepared to transform.

"You can't…!" The Green Ranger told her almost at once when he realized what she was about ready to do.

"We need help, and besides… did you see her attack? I think she might be one of us." Christina pointed out, referring to Jacquie. "I don't see why I shouldn't be able to transform… She's my best friend after all…"

"Yeah… but it could also be a trick of the enemy… Remember, Zephlin hasn't even told us who the enemy really is yet… Apart from their name…" The Green Ranger tried to get some sense into Christina.

"I don't care… We'll find out who they are, and maybe Jacquie can help us… Remember, not every ally of the past Rangers has necessarily _been_ a Power Ranger…" Christina said.

"You've watched too much television in your lifetime…" The Green Ranger looked back at Runri and Yuki, who were currently glaring mutinously at Jacquie.

Spike was just walking down the sidewalk of his street when he heard the transmitter on his wrist beeping.

"Yeah, what is it Zephlin?" He asked.

"The Green and Gold Rangers are in need of your help, Spike." Zephlin said.

"I'm on it…" Spike said, but just as he spoke, the sky around him grew dark and he perceived that something else was about to happen. "Actually, cancel that thought… Something's happening on my end of the plate too…" He had to cut communication and transform into the Blue Ranger quickly to avoid taking the brunt of a lightning attack from the sky. He leapt out of the way in his Blue Ranger uniform just in time.

"You have quick reflexes for a newbie Ranger." An unfamiliar voice said in a cocky tone that irritated Spike. He readied his staff. "But I've finished off Power Rangers much more adept to fighting than you are…"

Hanri appeared in front of Spike.

"Who do you think you are? You mean to say that there are _other_ Rangers out there?" Spike asked.

Hanri merely laughed as she unsheathed her twin swords.

"Star-sword Scream!" She shouted suddenly. There was a sound of nails on a chalkboard that almost made Spike drop his staff to try and cover his ears. The sound was already so loud, yet it just seemed to get louder even as he thought about it.

"Azure Hurricane!" He shouted, and the strength of his counter-attack forced Hanri to abruptly change from offensive to defensive. The clash of the two powers caused an explosion of blue and yellow energy that the other two Rangers could even see from where they were.

"It's looking like Spike has his hands full…" The Green Ranger said.

"Thank you for that statement, mister point - out - the - obvious - a - lot." Christina looked at the horizon in an irritated manner. Christina had still been unable to transform, even though she and the Green Ranger were constantly being attacked by Runri and Yuki, who currently seemed to have the upper hand of the situation.

Runri and Yuki decided that, instead of a direct attack, they would find another way to get Christina to surrender. They used their _Time Stopper_ attack after calling their _Azure Ice Lightning_ attack another time.

Jacquie found herself being used as a shield by Runri and Yuki, who had their whips again and used them to tie her up. When the two attackers removed the _Time Stopper_, Christina realized the severity of the situation.

"So what do you say, little runt? Are you going to surrender your Gold Ranger Powers? Or do we have to beat you into submission…?" Yuki asked. "We can do this nicely, or meanly… whichever way you prefer."

"Gold Ranger…?" Jacquie asked, intrigued.

_Dang it_… Christina thought.

"Well… The cats out of the bag now…" She grumbled out loud… "Elysion Gold Ranger… Transform!" She said, and the Gold Ranger stood before Runri, Yuki and Jacquie. "I'll tell you one thing… I'm not surrendering… The only way you'll get my powers is by going through my dead body."

Christina unsheathed her swords.

"Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower!" She shouted, and the attack forced Runri and Yuki to release Jacquie in order to escape from the burning light.

Zephlin had been monitoring the situation, and after seeing her attack, Jacquie suddenly found herself standing in front of the stranger and being told she was the Silver Ranger, and how to transform, and being handed a watch that matched her very color. She was glad to be able to do something, and willingly accepted what Zephlin had told her. This all happened just as the Gold Rangers' attack faded away.

"Elysion Silver Ranger… Transform!" She said, and next thing she knew she was standing before Zephlin in her new Silver Power Ranger uniform, the stripes on her outfit were white instead of black, along with the glove trimmings and her belt. "Too cool." She said, and she transported herself quickly to the scene where Christina and the Green Ranger were holding off Runri and Yuki's assault as best they could.

Jacquie's weapon of choice was a tall silver scythe with a black and silver hilt. And after making a mental note of all her weapons, she teleported to the scene that she had just left, rather quickly.

"Oh great… More runts…" Runri grumbled.

"Can't you give us a break for once?" Yuki asked.

"Sorry, no can do…" Jacquie said.

"Awesome…! I'm not the only girl on this team anymore…!" Christina said, feeling like things might finally be taking a turn for the better.

"Christina, Ray, Jacquie… We've got a situation… Spike is in trouble and he needs help." Zephlin's voice came onto their communicators.

"Ray, Jacquie, go help Spike… I can handle these two missies' here myself." Christina said almost instantly.

"You gotta be crazy!" Jacquie said.

"I've fought these two before… I know how they are. Go help Spike… unlike me; he's new when it comes to fighting… Besides, no offense, but I'd rather fight alone." Christina said.

"Just call us if you need help, then." Jacquie said, placing a hand on Christina's shoulder.

Christina waited until Ray and Jacquie had left before turning to Runri and Yuki.

"So, you think you can handle us on your own?" Runri grinned malevolently.

"We've been holding back until now…" Yuki looked at Christina.

"Now we won't hide a thing."

Runri and Yuki put their whips away, and this movement sent a chill down Christina's spine- something told her that this would be their final battle together.

"We've asked you before, and we'll ask you again: Are you afraid of the dark?" Yuki asked.

"Because your coffin will be made of darkness… and the realm of darkness shall be your grave." Runri stated.

"I doubt it…" Christina said. In a weird sort of way, she thought the way that Runri had stated her fate was kind of cool. But Christina still doubted that the two would succeed in killing her. She readied her swords for any sort of conflict that would happen.

Spike looked at Hanri, and she looked back. His attack had no effect on her at all.

"It looks like you're all out of ideas." Hanri grinned, unsheathing her swords. "Starlight Rain!" She shouted, and Spike had to dodge a wave of blue streaks of light that had aimed themselves at him. The streaks of blue light narrowly missed him, and connected to a large pine tree that exploded on impact with the light.

_Dang it… I can't get close enough…_ Spike thought. He prepared for his own counterattack again.

Without warning, Hanri leapt into the air, swords raised and ready to attack. Spike quickly raised his staff to block the swords, and their weapons soon clashed repeatedly as the woman continued to try and break his staff.

Just as Hanri was about to unleash another set of attacks, two arrows connected with her back and exploded, engulfing her in green light.

Spike recognized that as Ray's attack, and sure enough, the Green Ranger came running up to him. Along with someone new… _A silver ranger…_? Spike thought. _Give me a break._

"You all right, buddy?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, who's this? A new member?" Spike looked at the Silver Ranger.

"Yup." The Silver Ranger nodded.

"Great… more free-loaders…" Hanri gritted her teeth angrily.

"Where's Christina…?" Spike asked, ignoring Hanri's comment.

"She's handling Runri and Yuki on her own." Ray answered.

"What…?" Spike seemed alarmed.

"She'll be fine… but right now, I think we'd better take care of this chic first…" Ray said.

There came a low chuckle from Hanri as she sheathed her swords.

"You want to go help your friend, but you can't… because I will soon kill you all… And take your souls to my employer…" She said.

"Employer…?" The Silver Ranger asked curiously. "Wait… You're not a bounty hunter, are you?"

"Heh… You're smart for a kid. Yes, I am a bounty hunter… And a decent price has been placed on your souls." Hanri said. "My friends will take care of the one that is not here just fine, on their own. So I don't have to dirty my hands any more than necessary…"

"What are you talking about?" Spike asked, irritated.

"You all are new Rangers and very weak…" Hanri looked at them, her eyes strangely demon-like. "It will be very easy to defeat you all."

"That's what you think…" Ray said, fitting two arrows to his bow.

Spike also prepared for his attack.

"Now, now, children… let's not get temperamental." Hanri smirked. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, they were glowing a deep shade of blood red.

"Uh-oh… bad guy with glowing eyes equals bad news for us…" The Silver Ranger said, unsheathing her sword.

Red and black clouds slowly occupied the sky overhead.

"I hope you like my Mist of Death…" Hanri said.

The only Ranger who seemed unaffected by this strange attack was the Silver Ranger. The other two were on their knees, holding their hands to their helmets.

"Actually, Hanri, it's a little bland for me… I wouldn't put it on the menu." The Silver Ranger said.

"I see… So you are unaffected by my Mist of Death…Then try this…!" Hanri unsheathed a dagger hidden in her coat, and threw it at the Silver Ranger, who blocked it with her own scythe.

The blade of the dagger got stuck in a nearby tree, which turned black upon impact. The Silver Rangers' scythe began to glow a silver-white color and the black and red clouds up ahead began to fade away, and she found words coming to her.

"_Darkness reverse, life return_!" She said, holding her scythe to the air.

She heard Hanri curse as her spell was repelled. _My scythe is returning everything to normal_, the Silver Ranger thought. _Cool_.

"Creatures of this world lend me your strength and allow us to defeat this evil being!" She shouted.

Spike and Ray were able to get back to their feet and felt their strength returning.

"Are you two ready…?" The Silver Ranger asked.

"Yeah, let's finish this…" Spike said, preparing for his _Azure Hurricane_, while Ray nodded his assent and prepared for his _Lightning Arrow Strike_ attack.

"_Life Reborn Assault!_" The Silver Ranger shouted, aiming her scythe at Hanri.

"_Azure Hurricane!_"

"_Lightning Arrow Strike!_"

Hanri took the full brunt of all three of the attacks as waves of silver, green and blue light made their way towards her.

"You may have beaten me… but your friend will surely loose." Hanri said before fading away.

"Let's hurry." The Silver Ranger said after Hanri had vanished.

Spike acted like he'd rather not, but he said nothing and prepared to teleport back with Ray and the Silver Ranger.

Christina watched as Runri and Yuki transformed into two large dragons. One red, the other blue, and encircled her. She had to do some quick thinking; otherwise she would probably be a French fried golden power ranger.

"If you hadn't decided to become a Power Ranger, you might have lived longer." The red dragon said.

"But now it is too late to turn back, and the darkness we will bring upon you shall be your grave…" The blue dragon said, her face uncomfortably close to Christina.

The three of them were soon engulfed in a sphere of black light, and even though she knew they were there, Christina could not see the two dragons that were Runri and Yuki.

"Like our darkness?" Runri's voice came from somewhere to her right, and annoyed Christina greatly.

"Not really… _Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower!_" Christina shouted suddenly, raising her swords up to the air. There were several moments during which nothing happened, and then her swords began to glow as Christina silently urged them to please work. A column of golden-yellow light shot up towards the sky suddenly, and a wave of what appeared to be meteors made of light came falling from the heavens piercing the darkness.

Within moments, the light had returned around her and the two demon women, who were now in their human form and looking very battered.

"Now I have a question for you… If you are so powerful, then how come you have to take orders from someone like Zephron?" She asked the two.

"Uh… because we were told to… Why do you take orders from Zephlin?" Yuki asked.

"Because I want to." Christina explained.

Runri and Yuki blinked in surprise, and confusion. At that very moment, the Green, Blue and Silver Rangers all appeared beside Christina.

"Ready to finish these two off…?" Ray asked, starting to fit two more arrows to his bow.

"Wait." Christina said, sheathing her swords in one swift movement. She stepped forward to Runri and Yuki, who braced themselves.

"What did you mean, 'because you want to'?" Runri asked. "You actually want to help Zephlin…?"

"Yes." Christina nodded, de-morphing.

Zephlin watched in stunned silence. _What does she think she's doing?_ He thought as he watched the group in the waterfall.

"What I mean is, Zephlin told me I was a Ranger. I didn't believe him at first, but now I do… I genuinely want to help him. But that is of my own choice." Christina told the two, walking right up to them. "You only do what you're doing because you were told to do it… You weren't given the opportunity to rethink what you had to do, am I correct?"

Runri and Yuki looked at her in silence, their eyes wide.

"And I have the feeling that you don't really want to do what you are doing, right?" Christina continued, and the two of them nodded, though a little timidly. "You have the opportunity to choose what you want to do, you are powerful enough to take on a Power Ranger and come out alive… but that is not what makes one powerful… The ability for one to _choose_ what they want to do, when they want to do it… _That_ is what makes a person truly powerful. You don't have to fight with Zephron… and I am not asking you to fight with us."

"Then what _are_ you asking us to do?" Runri asked, highly confused.

"To become who you want to be." Christina answered, her eyes almost piercing the two. It was almost as if she could see into their very souls. "And do what you want to do… You don't have to do what Zephron asks you to do… Forget the consequences… And go make a new life for yourselves. I believe that you can become something much stronger and much greater than you already are now. I will help keep Zephron from you if you wish."

Runri and Yuki looked at Christina, and actually smiled. It wasn't like the smile that Christina was accustomed to, but a genuinely happy smile. It was amazing the transformation that had already begun in those two.

"Thank you, young Christina." Runri and Yuki walked forward.

Ray, Spike and Jacquie all readied their weapons in case Runri and Yuki decided to attack.

Runri and Yuki each held out a hand to shake Christina's, and she smiled and imitated the movement.

"You are right… We do not have to live like this… We _will_ decide for ourselves what we want to do and what we want to become. Thank you…" Runri and Yuki clasped Christina's hands for a long moment before releasing them. "Your soul is indeed fit for the role that you will have to play." Runri said, her eyes softer somehow now.

"Farewell, our friend." Yuki said, and the two women transformed into crows and vanished into the sky.

"Well, that was interesting." Spike said, in a clearly unimpressed tone of voice. Christina ignored him.

"Rangers, return." Zephlin said over their communicators.

"Right." Christina nodded.

The four Power Rangers teleported themselves back to Zephlin's clearing. Spike, Ray and Jacquie all de-morphed and the four of them each stood at attention in front of Zephlin.

"Well done, Rangers. I am very impressed." Zephlin said. "However, you still have a long way to go before becoming a true team… You need to learn how to work together as a team rather than as an individual."

Only Christina's eyes showed frustration at the last part of Zephlin's speech. Even Spike looked a little irked at what he said.

"I am impressed with how you handled the battles, Christina, Ray, Spike and Jacquie. But there are still more to come. I will contact you the next time you are needed, until then, you can enjoy a well-earned rest." Zephlin concluded, thus dismissing the Power Rangers. "Christina… I would like you to stay behind for a moment or two longer, please."

Christina nodded, slightly confused as the others left.

"Why did you let Runri and Yuki go?" Zephlin asked her once he was sure that Spike, Ray and Jacquie were all gone.

"Because I could sense that there was some good in them. They weren't all evil… They could be trusted." Christina answered as truthfully as she could.

"I see… You could see something that the rest of us could not…" Zephlin muttered out loud.

"There was something else too…" Christina said after a few minutes of silence were Zephlin was lost in thought about something.

"And what was that?" Zephlin asked, just a little curious.

"I could sense that the three of us… We were alike somehow. Very much alike." Christina said, wondering how much she should say.

"Similar, huh…" Zephlin looked at her curiously now. "This needs some thought and looking into…"

"Please, don't hurt Runri and Yuki, Zephlin… Promise me you won't?" Christina suddenly said.

Zephlin blinked in surprise. After several moments of deep contemplation, he nodded.

"Alright, I promise." He said. "I will not harm Runri and Yuki, but if they decide to attack us again… I will have no choice, Christina." He added.

"I assure you they won't." Christina said, not knowing how or why she was so sure about those two.

"Alright, very well… You may leave now. I'll call you and the others next time you're needed." Zephlin said after several more moments of silence.

Christina swallowed, and nodded before teleporting herself back to her home, where Jacquie waited.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: United**

"So what was that all about? Those two demon women?" Jacquie asked when Christina returned.

"A little bit." Christina lied with a smile. "Come on, let's have that movie party like we planned." And she hurried inside after petting each of her cats.

"Christina, how long have you been a Power Ranger…?" Jacquie asked, following her friend. She wasn't going to back down that easily. "And not even told me?"

"Only a week or two at the most…" Christina said.

"But why didn't you tell me?" Jacquie asked.

"Honestly, I couldn't…" Christina replied. "It's one of the taboos of being a Power Ranger. Each one of us must follow all of the taboos. If we don't, I have the feeling serious consequences will occur."

"What are you talking about?" Jacquie asked as they headed to the kitchen.

"Think of it… If we were to go blurting out that we were Power Rangers… It wouldn't just be us that would be in danger. Our family, friends… Possibly everyone that we know could become the target of our enemy… Whose face hasn't even been shown to us yet."

"Okay, okay, spare me the lecture." Jacquie said, throwing her hands up as if to admit defeat.

Christina smiled as she put a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

"You failed me again, Izor." Zephron growled.

"I am sorry, but the Rangers are awakening faster than I had expected them to… I have already put a new plan into place." Izor said.

"Good. I will not tolerate another failure." Zephron said, his eyes growing darker than usual.

"Three strikes and you're out, kiddo." Char's voice came from the shadows.

"Calm down, my apprentice…" Zephron said, though he looked highly amused at the affect that Chars' words had on Izor. "We need to find the last ranger before they do…"

"Which ranger is that, my lord…?" Izor asked.

"The one that has the blessings of the planet of Fire, Mars… The Red Ranger." Zephron stated firmly.

"So this one also controls an element of nature?" Izor inquired.

"No, he controls the land of the pixies… Of course he controls an element of nature you imbecile." Zephron snapped. "Proceed with your plan." He ordered, still in a snappish tone of voice.

"Y-yes, My Lord." Izor bowed.

Izor watched as his master left silently.

"You heard him, Ruma." Izor ordered to a shadow in a corner.

"Yes, Master Izor… Operation Recap will commence shortly." A hiss of a voice answered.

In the Seymour household, a seventeen-year-old teenager was excitedly anticipating the return of his older brother, Ray. This teenagers' name was Eric Seymour and his older brother, Ray, was returning for the weekend to get away from his college studies and his new job. Eric hadn't seen his older brother for over a year now, because of all the homework he had and how much school he had been undertaking, but apparently Ray finally had some free time.

Eric watched from the living room window for his brothers' car- a green aqua colored ford aspire- to pull up in the driveway. He and his family lived up in the mountains, and because of that, it was always colder than down in the valley, and it took a lot longer for people to find their house. He got impatient, and decided to go to the kitchen for some hot cocoa.

He got a mug out and poured some tap water in it. He then placed his hand under the mug and a small red flame appeared just below it, bringing the water to a simmer. The flame disappeared, and he brought out a small back of hot cocoa powder and poured it in. Just as the cocoa was looking like it was ready to be drunk, Eric heard the sound of a car approaching, and a door opening and closing, then the entrance to the house opening and closing.

"Hey, guys, I'm here!" Came Rays' voice.

"Awesome! I'm just getting some cocoa ready, want some?" Eric called back from the kitchen.

"Sure, I'll put my stuff in the extra room…" Ray nodded and he went upstairs.

"Hey, Ray, can I talk to you about something?" Eric asked when his brother came back down.

"What? You got girl troubles or something?" Ray asked with a slight grin as he took his mug.

"No, nothing like that… But…" Eric sat down on his favorite recliner. "I think I might have special powers or something, bro… You know, like how you always seemed to be able to control storms and stuff?"

"Yeah." Ray said, nodding, suddenly very interested to hear what his younger brother had to say.

"I think I can control fire… I mean, I can make it appear just by thinking I need some, and I was able to use it to heat up the cocoa just now." Eric said. He raised up his right hand and a ball of red-orange flame appeared in his hand.

"Cool… Just don't use your powers frivolously… Oh, hey, I forgot something in my car. You wait here and I'll be right back, ok?" Ray stood up and drained his cup of cocoa.

Eric nodded and watched as his brother left. Unfortunately, he couldn't see outside because the weather had suddenly turned bad.

"Hey, Zephlin… I think I may have found our next Power Ranger." Ray said into his communicator.

"You really believe so? So soon?" Zephlin's surprised voice answered. "Who, then?"

"My brother… He seems to have control over fire… He has much more control over his powers than the rest of us did…" Ray answered.

"If that is so, then Zephron will surely try to claim his power…" A red column of light shone down from the sky and a silver watch with a thin, red band around the clock appeared in Ray's hands. "Give that to your brother… If the powers have accepted him, he will become the Red Ranger of Elysion…You know the drill, Ray."

"Right." Ray nodded.

"Is that all?" Zephlin asked.

"Yep." Ray responded.

"Good… Let me know the minute anything happens. That's all." Zephlin said, and he cut the communication.

Ray then pretended to go out to his car, where his brother could see him, and rummage around for something before closing the door and heading back into the house.

"Did you get what you were looking for?" Eric asked.

"Yep." Ray tossed his younger brother the watch.

"Awesome!" Eric said, his eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. "I've always wanted one of these kind of watches… Cool."

"Thought you might like it." Ray chuckled. "Now c'mon, let's watch a movie or play a video game." He said as his brother put the 'watch' on.

Christina was looking out the window of her back porch in silence. She was watching the birds pecking away at the bugs in the grass. She sighed.

"Christina, you're missing the good part in the movie!" Jacquie shouted over the loud, thunderous soundtrack from the movie that was playing in the living room. "Why did you just leave all of a sudden?"

"Something's coming…" Christina said quietly, but still loud enough for her friend to hear. Jacquie stopped the movie and walked over.

"Something's… _coming_?" Jacquie blinked at her friend.

"Yes… Something is coming… Can't you feel it?" Christina asked. Her voice was strangely different, as though that of a child had taken her over. Her eyes seemed void of any life that had shown through before.

"Christina… What are you talking about?" Jacquie asked, feeling slightly disturbed on the inside. "I don't understand what you are saying…"

"Light and dark… The two call each other… Light and dark… The two cannot exist without one or the other… They are coming…" Christina said, looking now up at the sky as though in a trance. "Battles, hopes, dreams, loss… All exist to form what we know to be human…"

"Christina? What's wrong? You're freaking me out, girl…!" Jacquie grabbed her friends' shoulders and shook her. "I don't see where you're getting at with all of this gibberish!"

"Humanity is made up of millions of neurons, and of DNA… But so are other creatures as well… Do we have the right to fight the other beings because we do not see eye-to-eye? The knowledge one can gain in their search for the answers to what makes us human is infinite… Yet even now, we do not know what creates our powers… We are but mere fledglings in a tradition long upheld by those who are considered righteous." Christina turned to her friend, her eyes were gray, and that startled Jacquie. Instead of the usual, brilliant emerald green, her eyes were dull gray. It was as though she were a different person. "When you realize what it is exactly that gives us our powers… What it is exactly that we are fighting for… Then, my friend, you and I will see eye to eye."

"Christina… Snap out of it…" Jacquie shook slightly.

Christina looked at her, and blinked. The emerald green light her eyes usually revealed shone through that gray blackness.

"Jacquie? What's wrong?" Christina asked. "You look pale… Like you've seen a ghost or something."

"You mean you… don't remember?" Jacquie blinked, her hands were still on Christina's shoulders.

"What is it, Jacquie?" Christina asked out of genuine concern. Her voice was back to normal. "What is it that I'm supposed to remember?"

Jacquie stared at her friend for several moments. Had she gone into a genuine trance? But why? _Talk to Zephlin_. A small voice said inside her. _Tell him about it before you forget_.

"Um… Hey, I just remembered I forgot something at the store, so I'll… Um… be right back." Jacquie said.

"What did you forget? I might already have it here so you won't have to go all the way to the store." Christina suggested as her friend went over to get her purse.

"No, no! It's something special… You just stay here and get some rest, you look like you might be coming down with something again." Jacquie said as honestly as she could.

Christina watched as her friend left in a hurry. _What happened_? _Did I do something that I wasn't supposed to? Or did I say something wrong? I just went over for some fresh sunlight_… She raised her hands up so that she could look at them at eye level. _I can feel a change within me… Something is trying to get out of me_…_I can't let it… Not yet anyways… I have to hold it in… But why?_

"So the Rangers are continuing to awaken to their powers faster than probably their fool of a leader even expected…" Zephron muttered from his throne. "It won't be long now… Unless we stop themnow. I hope Izor has come up with a plan that will make up for his last failures."

"Master, wouldn't the Ranger we should be most concerned about is the Gold Ranger?" Chars' voice came from the shadows behind him again. "If I remember correctly, the Gold Ranger is the Key to uniting the Crystal."

"Each of the Rangers of Elysion holds a part of the Key… But you are right… the Gold Ranger is the one who holds the most important part. Without each of the Rangers, the Crystal cannot be summoned… and only the purest hearts are chosen to be the Guardians of the Crystal, as I have stated before… Char… I want you to send the Army of Hibiku1… To keep the Rangers busy and possibly capture one of them… I don't trust that Izor will succeed in his mission this time…"

"Yes my Lord." Char's voice sounded excited and slightly anxious. It was finally his turn to please Zephron.

Char looked as though he was only ten years old physically, but the look in his eyes was that of an experienced warrior. His eyes were a deep teal blue, and his hair was black like his masters', only his own hair was straight and went just above his shoulders. He wore a black long sleeved shirt, black pants, and black shoes.

He stopped walking when he reached the outside of the ship. And began to summon the Army of the Hibiku. The army was made up of a group of creatures that looked like armored men, with dark, shoulder length dread-locks. Their eyes were dark, and cat-like, and their teeth were more like fangs.

"What is thy bidding, master?" The soldier with dark armor said with a hiss like a snake.

"I want you to go to the surface and bring me the Gold Ranger…" Char said, raising his right hand in front of them. As he did so, a rectangular screen appeared in front of him, and an image of the Gold Ranger appeared in both normal form, and battle form. "But I will need some of you to keep the other members of her team busy, as well."

"Don't worry, master. We will take care of them." The leader of the army bowed, then he barked out the order that half of the group would find the others, while the rest of them would take care of the Gold Ranger. Then the group vanished with a hiss, and a poof of black light.

Jacquie teleported in front of Zephlin, who looked surprised.

"What is it, Jacquie?" Zephlin asked.

"Something strange happened to Christina…" Jacquie said after a few moments of silence.

"Strange? What do you mean by that?" Zephlin looked concerned, and Jacquie explained what had happened.

"So what should we do…?" Jacquie asked after she was done, and there was no response for a while.

"We should wait, and if anything else happens to her, and you're around, bring her here—" Zephlin began, but a sudden loud screeching, like that of a bird sounded.

"What in the heck is that…?" Jacquie felt like she was shouting to make herself heard over the screeching noise that came from nowhere as she held her hands over her ears.

"My Phoenix… He looks out for trouble and alerts me if there is any." Zephlin answered. He raised his hand and pointed to the large stone that was shaped like a giants' chair, opposite of the waterfall. Jacquie turned and saw the stone morph into a large, glowing box.

_Cool_. Jacquie thought as she watched the box glow silvery-white, but in the next instant she was repulsed by the sight of the ugliest army she had ever seen.

"The Hibiku…" Zephlin growled.

"The what?" Jacquie asked, blinking in her confusion.

"The Hibiku… an Army that Zephron has control over. Light cannot stop them, as with most demons of the underworld… They were bred to be fierce fighters to the end and anyone they bite turns into one of their kind."

"Like vampires." Jacquie said.

"Yes… Exactly like vampires." Zephlin nodded. "Only more deadly."

"Joy." Jacquie sighed, speaking in high sarcasm.

"Guys!" Ray's voice came over their communicators. "We need help here!"

"Morph into the Rangers… Tell your brother how to." Zephlin said.

"Roger that, Zephlin." Ray's voice confirmed that he heard him.

"Jacquie, go help them. I will alert Christina and Spike." Zephlin instructed her.

"Right!" Jacquie nodded, getting into position to morph. "Elysion Silver Ranger, transform!" She said, and was soon off to the battlefield to help Ray and the new Red Ranger.

"Uh… bro… what's going on here…?" Eric asked as the Hibiku appeared in the front yard and surrounded the house.

"Too much to explain, too little time." Ray answered. "Save it for when we're out of this."

"We…?" Eric blinked, looking at his older brother.

"Yeah… Listen, Eric you know that watch I gave you?" Ray said, looking back at him.

"Yes…" Eric answered slowly.

"Well, watch what I do…" Ray instructed. He held up his watch, and pressed down on the clock while saying, "Elysion Green Ranger transform!"

Eric's eyes went wide when the Green Ranger appeared before him.

"Whoa…! You're a _Power Ranger_?" He half-shouted in his amazement.

"Yeah, and so are you. All you have to do is what I did, only you are the Red Ranger." Ray explained.

"Awesome…" Eric said, and he imitated what his brother did, while saying, "Elysion Red Ranger transform!"

"Ray, I'm sending the others over to help you." Zephlin said over the communicator.

"Who's that guy?" Eric asked.

"He's the one who gives us the orders… You'll meet the others soon, too." Ray answered. "But for now… how bout you try out your new powers as the Red Ranger?"

"Let's go, brother." Eric nodded, and they both headed out the door ready to fight. Eric's outfit was colored a deep shade of crimson red, with black vertical stripes down his arms and legs like the others.

"So you're finally here Power Rangers…" The leader of the group hissed at them.

"Man, you're an ugly one." Ray said.

"Tell you the truth, brother… I think they're _all_ ugly." Eric said, and Ray chuckled.

"You won't be so humorous when we're done with you…" One of the soldiers said. He unsheathed a scimitar blade, the other soldiers followed suit.

"Aw, come on… one thousand against two? That's not very fair." Eric said casually. He knew he had weapons, but right now he wanted to fight with the good old martial arts.

"How about we even up the odds?" Spike and Jacquie's voices came from the sidelines.

"Cool, you made it… Where's Christina?" Ray noticed there was one that was missing.

"She's not here yet?" Jacquie asked, concerned even more now about her friend.

"Zephlin, Christina's not here." Ray said.

"I'll look for her, you take care of the Hibiku." Zephlin replied.

"Right." Ray nodded.

Eric watched as the other Rangers prepared their weapons for attack, or defense. Whichever came first.

"Looks like a good old fashioned stand-off in the mountains." Eric said, getting into his own fighting position.

"Christina, where are you? The others need you." Zephlins' voice sounded over the communicator, but Christina had no chance to respond. She had already transformed, and was fighting using both of her swords to cut through the army.

"Sorry, Zephlin… I'm a little tied up right now." Christina finally had a chance to pause, but only for a moment. It took all of her concentration to use both swords at once to cut through the army that looked like a bunch of armored vampires in dreadlocks.

"I'm going to be on my way to help you, then." Zephlin said after a few moments of thinking while the sound of sword battle echoed throughout the clearing as though the battle were taking place right there.

"What?" Christina found herself exclaiming in surprise. It was a moment of surprise that the enemy took advantage of, and used an attack that Christina had no idea that even existed.

The army surrounded her, and held their swords up to the sky.

"_Strings of the Sinner come to us and lend us your strength. Siege upon this warrior with your shrill truth and make her heart shudder… Hoshi no Zo… Hareru, Tsutomeru Korosu__2__!_"

Christina looked around, and saw the soldiers fade away into a darkness that suddenly surrounded her. Her heart began to race as she looked around for an escape from this nightmare of darkness. The next thing she knew, she felt an incredible pressure binding her body tightly together. _Someone help_. She thought, closing her eyes and shutting out the sight of the everlasting darkness around her.

"_Christina, hold on!_" A familiar voice shouted inside her helmet.

"Zephlin… Where are you?" Christina asked.

Zephlin stood just behind the group of Hibiku warriors that surrounded Christina.

"Over here!" He said, and the Hibiku creatures turned around in an instant.

"So the little worm has decided to show himself!" The leader hissed.

"I'll decide who's the worm here." Zephlin snapped, and he held up his wrist to reveal a watch similar to that of Christina's, only it had a white band around the clock. "Elysion White Ranger, transform!" He said, pressing his hand down on the clock. Within seconds, the White Ranger stood in front of the Hibiku. His outfit was different from the others; there were gold stripes like lightning going vertically, and on his chest was what looked like a golden crest with a white wingless dragon encircling a gold star. His helmet was white, and had the same pattern as the other Rangers did.

"Another one…?" The leader growled.

"That's right… Elysion White Ranger at your service." Zephlin said. On his waist was a sheath, with a sword that had a white and gold handle on it. He unsheathed the sword. "And you'd better let the young lady go, or you'll get a taste of my own brand of power." He ordered.

"You, order _us_ around? Now that is an interesting proposition… Here's ours… You leave us alone, the Gold Ranger lives… you see this isn't just a column of black gravity… it also rips the person's body apart from the inside out upon our command… You won't want to be making any sudden movements there, Zephlin."

Ray, Eric, Spike and Jacquie were all standing there, still in their morphed states with their weapons at ready, waiting for the Hibiku to make their first move. Finally, the leader of the Hibiku let out an ear-piercing screech, and the creatures lunged forward, swords outstretched towards the Rangers, and fangs ready to bite.

"Here they come…" Spike grumbled, readying his staff.

Within seconds, the two sides collided with each other

"_Lightning Arrow Strike!_" Ray said loudly, releasing his two arrows from the bow that he held at the ready.

"_Life Drain!_" Jacquie yelled, holding up her scythe to the air.

Two arrows became several streaks of green light, and the scythe generated an energy force that could only be felt by the enemy, which faded into a dust like form on the ground. The creatures affected by Ray's attack exploded upon impact with the green arrows of light.

"Wow… that's totally different from before." Spike noted out loud.

"It's probably because we're all together as a team now." Jacquie nodded. "It's just like the old saying 'individually, the powers are small, but together people can do great things.' "

"Well… for starters, let's kick those tin cans out of town." Eric said as the Hibiku prepared for another onslaught. He didn't want to use his weapons unless absolutely necessary. He noted that he had two twin daggers along with two blasters. The blasters were crimson red, while the daggers' hilts and handles were crimson red as well.

"Let's go." Ray fitted two more arrows to his bow, and the others prepared to go and meet the Hibiku.

"Ready!" The rest of the team said, and Ray released his two arrows, which once again became several streaks of piercing green light, allowing the others to attack while the Hibiku were distracted.

"I've got a better plan…" Zephlin said, holding his sword with the tip pointed at the army. "_Ice Fury!_" He shouted, and the sword glowed an eerie blue-white light, which then let out a bang like a shotgun, that released thousands of shards of pure ice crystals at the Hibiku. The shards then stopped in midair surrounding the individual soldiers.

"You've got to do better than that if you're going to stop us!" The leader shouted, laughing.

At that very moment, however, the ice shards began to expand in their size, soon engulfing the soldiers under one large iceberg that shattered and faded away. This left the column of dark energy that imprisoned Christina.

"Christina, use your attack to weaken the force field from the inside… then I'll take care of the rest from here." He instructed her over the communicator.

"Right." Christina nodded, standing up as best she could under the weight of the gravity. She then unsheathed her swords, and directed them towards the sky. "Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower!" She shouted. The column of black light soon became a column of gold light, and for a moment, the effects of the gravity did not impact Christina at all as the column was being weakened by her attack on it. "It's all yours, Zephlin." Christina said after the light faded away.

"Right… Get as far away from the front of the column as you can." Zephlin instructed.

She took several paces backward.

"Okay, Zephlin."

Zephlin nodded, and ran towards the column of black energy. When he reached it, he thrust his sword into the wall, and the wall slowly began to shatter. Then, all at once, it exploded and faded away.

"Thanks for your help… Now I need to go help the others." Christina sheathed her swords and prepared herself for transportation.

"I'll come with you… I imagine the other half of this army is keeping them pretty busy." The White Ranger, Zephlin, nodded.

"Right." Christina then prepared to transport herself to the spot that the others were at, Zephlin along with her.

The sound of swords and other weapons clashing could be heard in the mountains, and the four other Elysion Rangers were fighting hard now just to stay on their feet, having resorted to using their weapons- even Eric used his daggers now, as they were more effective than martial arts- and were surrounded by the Hibiku army.

"Why don't you surrender, Rangers?" The leader hissed. "It'll make our job easier for us."

"How about not?" Ray snapped, fitting two more arrows to his bow.

"Don't you ever run out of those?" The leader hissed angrily, having now grown a great dislike for the Green Rangers' Lighting Arrows.

"Fortunately for us, no. But that's the unfortunate news for you beasts." Ray smiled beneath his helmet.

"Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower!"

"Ice Fury!"

Two voices seemed to come from nowhere, and the Hibiku was covered in what looked like a crystallized ice glacier, seconds later the Gold Rangers' familiar attack annihilated the ice glacier in a flash of golden yellow light.

"Aw, come _on_… Can't a guy have any fun once in a while?" Ray said in a tone that sounded exactly the opposite of what he said.

"You'll get your chance, Ray." Zephlin's voice came from their right.

The Green, Red, Blue and Silver Rangers all turned to see the Gold Ranger, and yet another member to their team standing there.

"Woah… who's the dude in the white spandex?" Eric asked.

Christina had to cough violently in order to cover up her outburst of laughter, the others had to do similar various things to hide their outbursts of laughter at the Red Rangers blunt question.

"Let's all head back to the clearing." The White Ranger said. His posture was that of a strong man, but currently, his voice sounded highly amused.

"Right." The Rangers automatically nodded.

There were several moments of silence between them as they teleported out of the mountains and to Zephlins' clearing, where everyone but the Gold Ranger got the shock of their lives to learn that Zephlin was indeed the White Ranger when he un-morphed.

"Rangers, you did very well today, I am proud of you." Zephlin said. "And to answer your question, Red Ranger, I was that dude in the white spandex." He added, barely able to restrain himself from grinning ear to ear. "Now the team is complete, and I think it is safe to say that a good rest is in order before I explain everything to you… I will call you each tomorrow, and you will learn the truth about your mission, and why you have been called upon to protect this solar system."

"Wait… _solar system_?" The Red Ranger asked.

"I will explain everything _tomorrow_… But first… You must know the taboos of being a Power Ranger of Elysion now." Zephlin said, and the Rangers fell silent. "First, you must never reveal your true identity… Doing so could endanger all who are around you, and all that you hold dear to yourself. Second, just because you can control the elements of this universe does not mean that you can use them frivolously… Doing so will cause the powers to rebound against you, and destroy you. You must use extreme caution when transforming, and when you're morphed. As your physical strength increases, so will your powers and abilities. And finally, never use your powers to attack, unless you are attacked first… You must always answer a call from me, or any other members of the team. Because anything can happen at any time, and in order to complete your mission, you must work as a team. Do you accept these terms, Rangers?"

"Yes, sir." They each said in unison.

"Good." Zephlin looked highly pleased. "Now, go and rest up… Tomorrow you will learn the true objections of your missions. I want you to be at your best so you can focus and remember what I am going to tell you."

1 Hibiku- Japanese for Resound.

2 _Hoshi no Zo… Hareru, Tsutomeru Korosu- Statue of Crimson, Swell, Serve, Destroy._


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: The Truth**

Christina could hardly believe that, when she looked at the calendar after getting home and un-morphing, it had nearly been a month since she first met Zephlin.

"So, you ready to finish watching that movie?" Jacquie asked energetically.

"How can you think about movies when tomorrow we're going to have an important meeting with Zephlin?" Christina said, aghast.

"Hey, movies are relaxing… Come on." Jacquie said.

"I appreciate it… but I've got more important things to worry about… like that meeting with Zephlin tomorrow." Christina sighed.

"That's it! Come on!" Jacquie said, and she dragged her friend to her favorite chair and made her sit down. She then sat down on the couch and turned on the movie.

"You failed me, Char." Zephron growled at his apprentice. "Have I not taught you anything? Have I not taught you well?"

Char remained stalk still and stony silent.

"You mustn't be so hard on yourself, your Majesty." Izor said, stepping up. "You have taught him well… It's not your fault that he learned _nothing_… How many soldiers does it take to capture one young girl, Char?" Izor's eyes glittered with malice. Char still remained silent, the expression on his face impassive. "Master, if you will give me a chance, I will prove that it only takes two people to capture the young child that you seek."

"Very well." Zephron said, ignoring his apprentice. "Show me your plan and I might consider it."

Izor grinned.

"My lord, I have looked into the mind of the young Gold Ranger and I may have found a way that will get her to surrender without a fight." He explained. "When the time is right, I will bring her parents here and imprison them… The only way I will release them is if she surrenders."

"I like that plan. You may proceed with it." Zephron nodded. "Char, you are under suspension until I feel you have gotten strong enough to handle the Gold Ranger." Zephron turned, looking coldly at his apprentice.

Char still remained stalk-still, but there was the briefest flash of fear, hatred and anger.

"Rangers, you know why I have called you." Zephlin said, standing before the un-morphed Rangers after they had all gathered at the clearing the very next day at his call. "It is time you know the truth about why you have been summoned to be Power Rangers."

"To protect the Earth, right?" Jacquie asked.

"Wrong." Zephlin looked at her sharply. "That job is already being taken care of by the S.P.D. Ranger force." He added, seeing Jacquie's surprised and confused face. "You have a much greater responsibility and task."

"And that is… What?" Eric asked, feeling impatient and restless.

"You must be quiet, otherwise I will not be able to explain this all to you… You can save any question that you may have until _after_ I am done talking." Zephlin snapped. "Now, it is very important that you listen carefully. For what I am going to tell you is even more important than the Taboos that you have to follow." There was utter silence as each person paid attention to him as though he were a movie that they couldn't get enough of. Zephlin seemed satisfied now. "I come from the distant planet of Farla… And so does my brother. You may have heard his name… his name is Zephron." He paused. "What he is after is something called the Crystal of Elysion… and that has always been protected by the Guardians of Elysion, and that is your job. If you do not find and protect the crystal with your lives, this universe is doomed to destruction.

Farla is at the center of the Elysion Star Cluster, which is on the opposite end of the galaxy as your Earth. But both are connected by the same Crystal. If we do not find the crystal before Zephron does, our mission has failed. The Crystal of Elysion holds enough power to destroy and create entire galaxies, and it has fled from the destruction and carnage that my brother has brought on the planets it visits to Earth. But once again, Zephron has followed it here. He plans on finding the crystal and using it to destroy each galaxy before creating his own universe.

This Solar System is unique because it is the birthplace of the Crystal, and our powers. Each planet has its guardian… Jacquie, you are the Silver Ranger and you protect the planet of Neptune. Ray, you are the Green Ranger and you protect the Planet Earth. Eric, you are the Red Ranger and you protect the planet Mars. Spike, you are the Blue Ranger and you protect the planet Uranus. Christina, you are the Gold Ranger and the guardian of the Moon and Sun. I am the White Ranger, and I am the guardian of the planet of Farla." He paused for a few moments just to make sure that they were all paying attention. "Your powers have not yet reached the maximum… Once you learn how to work together as a team and your hearts beat as one, your true powers will show." Again, Zephlin paused. "And Christina, I am appointing you as the team leader. However, you must still answer when I call you, for I will not always join you five in battle all the time… Only under the direst of needs will I assist you. Is this clear Rangers?"

"Yes, Zephlin." They replied.

"Zephlin… Can you explain the Crystal a little better?" Christina asked. Zephlin chuckled.

"Yes, of course. The Crystal of Elysion is over two million years old. It was first created by the Goddess Somei when she knew her time in the physical universe was coming to a close. The Crystal had bonded with her long ago, and it will bond with those it deems has a strong enough heart to protect it. In return, the Crystal protects that person, and gives them longevity and power. It will also give those who are close to that person longevity and power as well, because without the closeness of their comrades… The person's heart would fail to protect the Crystal.

If those of ill intention discover the crystal, they will use the crystal for their own selfish gain. Entire planets and their systems have been wiped out because of this. So the Crystal will seek an individual that meets all of their needs."

"So… This Crystal is alive somehow?" Ray asked.

"In a way, yes." Zephlin nodded. "It lives and thrives on the collected energies of all that surround it… the entire galaxy is what gives it its' strength and power. And it chooses a very select number of people to guard, protect and hide it so history won't have to repeat itself. The Crystal does not want that to happen, but on a very rare occasion, the heart of the one it chose becomes corrupted once the heart figured out that it possessed the Crystal of Elysion, and the Crystal had to find a way to abandon that heart to find another."

"If something is that dangerous, why hasn't it been destroyed yet?" Christina asked.

"Without the Crystal, this galaxy is non-existent. The Crystal cannot live without the galaxy, as the galaxy cannot live without the Crystal. One day you will understand." Zephlin said, a little more patiently this time.

"But how did you and the Crystal end up here on Earth…?" Eric asked.

"I will tell you another time, when you are ready to learn the truth. For now, your young minds will have a hard enough time as it is in grasping the full impact of what I just told you." Zephlin said.

_Sure, you'll answer Christina's questions without a problem and make her the leader without a second thought_… Spike thought grumpily. _What makes her so special?_

"The reason I am doing this, Spike, is because she has been here helping me from the start." Zephlin said as though he had read Spike's mind. Spike reminded himself that this was probably the case.

_Crap_. Spike thought. _Why didn't anyone tell me he could read minds?_

Christina didn't mind Spike's obvious animosity towards her; in fact, it let her know that all of this was real. She had just been chosen to be the leader of one of the most powerful groups of warriors in the solar system… Well, they may not be too powerful right now, but as time went on, she had faith that they would all grow stronger as a team. If Spike had just accepted things as they were, she would be wondering if this wasn't just some weird dream.

"Zephlin, sir… I accept my duties as the leader of the Rangers of Elysion." Christina said. Zephlin looked highly pleased, in fact, she could swear there was almost a smile on that face of his.

"Good. You are all dismissed for now." He said. The group saluted to Zephlin, then left via their teleportation devices.

After Zephlin left, he sighed.

"There's going to be trouble between Spike and Christina unless I find a way to get them to see how great a team they make together already." He mumbled out loud. _The next battle, I will make those two fight on their own_. He thought when he heard the familiar far off screeching that was from his phoenix that was returning from another duty that Zephlin had sent it on.

The Phoenix was as large as a golden eagle, but as light as a feather when it landed on Zephlin's outstretched right arm. The talons of the bird looked as if they were made of pure silver and glittered in the sunlight; the plumage was a beautiful shade of midnight blue and silver, while the Phoenix's eyes were a piercing cobalt blue. The long tail of the magnificent bird was patterned with silver and midnight blue feathers that glittered in the light. The beak itself was midnight blue, but it reflected a strange silvery light just like the rest of its body.

"Ah, my friend… What news have you from the Farla and the Commander?" Zephlin asked, petting his bird. The Phoenix ruffled its feathers with pleasure and pride, and flapped its great wings. The bird let out a loud yet beautiful screech, and Zephlin looked at it with a mixture of admiration and respect.

"I can't believe this… I really can't believe this." Spike was telling Ray when the two of them had said goodbye to the girls and Eric. "Of all the people to be chosen for the leader, the old coot chooses Christina."

"Zephlin is not an old coot, Spike, and you know it." Ray shot back at his friend, who seemed taken aback at Rays' defense of both Christina and Zephlin. "And Christina is probably the better choice out of any of us to be our leader. She was the first one Zephlin found, remember. And besides, Spike, she has a lot more of a cooler head when in battle than you do."

"Feh, you always defend Christina." Spike snapped. "If you like her so much why don't you just go play house with her."

"You know what I think this is all about, Spike?" Ray growled.

"What?" Spike glared sharply at his friend.

"The fact that you got a blow to the ego because Zephlin chose a girl instead of you. You're always trying to be first in everything… Always trying to be the best in everything, but Christina beat you in this one thing, Spike. You're ticked off because you lost to someone who you've always picked on for no reason but for the fact that she is different." Ray said fiercely.

The silence after all of this confirmed just what Ray had said, and he felt highly satisfied with himself.

"Spike, if you ever want to become friends with Christina, I'd suggest you accept the facts as they are and grow up. Picking on her isn't going to do anything but worsen the situation, and her opinion of you. And now that we are Power Rangers, we need to all _work as a team_. Zephlin was right in that fact. Get to know Christina before this team falls apart." Ray said, and before Spike could figure out a clever retort, he had gone.

"So, now that we're both Power Rangers, looks like we'll be seeing more of each other than ever before." Jacquie said as they headed back to the house.

"Yup." Christina nodded. Two familiar crows in a nearby tree caught her eye, and she smiled up at them fondly before turning back to Jacquie.

"And since you're the leader of this rag-tag team, you'll need someone to help keep you out of trouble." Jacquie added.

"What do you mean?" Christina asked in mock-indignation.

"The leaders of the Power Ranger groups in the past have all seemed to fall into some kind of life-threatening danger or other kind of trouble or another, you know." Jacquie said with a nod.

"Yeah, but I don't go looking for trouble… Trouble usually finds me, remember." Christina reminded her friend.

"Well, at any rate." Jacquie said in an off-hand tone of voice. "I'm going to look after you as much as I can. You're going to be my little sister from now on, but that also means you have to look after your big sis' too. Deal?"

Christina smiled.

"Okay, sis'." She said, holding out her hand. "Let's make it a promise: Sisters to the very end."

"Sisters to the end." Jacquie nodded, taking Christina's hand in her own. They both shook their hands, and both were determined to keep their end of the promise.

"I'll make sure I go to the after-life with a clear conscience in the end of all things." Christina nodded after releasing her adopted sisters' hand. "But mind you, I'm going to be a handful to look after. I may be your leader, but I will also be known to follow my heart and instincts."

"I look forward to it. I've always wanted to tell you what to do, you know." Jacquie grinned malevolently. Christina began to wonder what she had gotten herself into. "Well, I'd better get back home before mom and dad maul me for not helping out with the business. I'll see you later, and take care of yourself Christina."

"Same goes to you." Christina said. She watched as her best friend got into her vehicle and drove out of sight moments later.

Christina sighed and yawned, before heading back into her house.

"Time to go be unconscious for a while…" She muttered, walking inside. She let her cats in, before flopping down onto her couch and going to sleep almost instantly.

In a city almost four hours away from where Christina lived, her aunt and uncle were busy at a bakery that they owned called _Hopkins National Bakery_. They didn't only make bread, but they made pastries and other homemade sweets as well. Since the couple had no problem with employing people and 'aliens,' there was an equal mix of many kinds of races in the bakery.

The couple was currently waiting for a new employee they had just registered the other day. They waited out behind the building for the truck that was supposed to pull up, and when it did, they walked over to it.

The door to the truck opened, and an alien stepped out of the vehicle. This alien didn't look friendly, however, instead, he looked quite malevolent. And the couple didn't recognize him.

"Excuse me… If you are a customer, you need to go around to the front please." The woman said as politely as possible.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry, madam… but I am neither a customer nor an employee of yours… I am a deliverer." The creature said, coming into full view.

"Deliverer?" The man said curiously.

All the couple could see of this alien was that he wore a black cloak with silver trim. The head of the alien looked like that of a Griffin, and its eyes looked like that of a hawk.

"I am here to deliver you to my Master… You will be treated fairly if what we seek cooperates with our bargain for your lives." The alien nodded at the shadows, and a group of Hibiku soldiers came out at his command.

"What do you want?" The woman said, sounding nervous.

"The Gold Ranger in exchange for your lives." The monster said as the Hibiku tied up the couples' hands with a glowing rope. "Let us take them to our Master now, he will be most pleased that this operation went on smoothly. If you do not struggle or make a sound, then we will not harm you." He added to the couple.

"Excellent. Now we will proceed with our plan." Zephron said once the alien had brought the couple to him. "You will accompany me, will you not, Ghost?"

"Yes, of course, my master." The alien bowed his head.

It was some time later, and Christina had gone outside, into her back yard. She now wore a pair of jean shorts, white shoes, socks, and a yellow tank top. She was practicing her martial arts, or rather, a form of Chinese martial arts. She felt that there was more of a skill to Chinese martial arts than American martial arts, and its' movements were much more graceful and beautiful. It seemed more like a dance than a mode of self-defense or attack. Her favorite was the many styles of ShaoLin.

This also helped to clear her mind. Closing her eyes, she began to practice the art of ShaoLin. _Right hook, left hook, round house kick with right leg, round house kick with left leg. Pose of the crane, swift like a snake_. All of these her ShaoLin master had taught her. _Inhale and prepare, exhale on the execution of your moves_. _Let the power of the creatures flow through you, and you will be invisible like the stones around you_.

"Defeating the enemy?" Spikes' sarcastic voice came from somewhere off to the side.

"Shut up. You know we need to keep in shape now… It's mandatory if we're to defeat Zephron and his forces." Christina snapped.

"Yeah, well—" Spike began, but he was interrupted.

Dark storm clouds formed overhead suddenly, and black lightning flashed all around the two of them. Soon, those of the Hibiku army surrounded them. There were a few moments of silence, and Spike and Christina looked at each other before nodding, having come to a silent conclusion.

"Elysion Gold Ranger, Transform!" Christina shouted, holding her hand to the watch on her wrist.

"Elysion Blue Ranger, Transform!" Spike shouted, imitating Christina.

The Gold and Blue Rangers stood, ready to fight, and the Hibiku attacked. The Gold Ranger unsheathed her swords, and the Blue Ranger prepared his staff for some hack and slash fun as he called it. Soon, however, it was obvious that the Gold Ranger would have to resort to hand-to-hand combat, when she realized that her swords were slowing her down.

Spike paused fighting for a mere second when he saw the Gold Ranger sheathe her swords, and started fighting with the same martial arts skills that he saw her use earlier. He himself then prepared for another attack, positioning his staff to face upward towards the sky while he looked at the Hibiku that surrounded them.

"_Azure Thunder Hurricane!_" He bellowed. Clouds seemed to swarm around him, and turn into pure blue light that expanded, wiping out almost the entire group of Hibiku.

The Gold Ranger stopped fighting, when she saw something odd at one corner of her yard. Zephron and a cloaked alien stood in the shadows. Even though they hadn't been told what Zephron looked like, Spike and Christina could very easily guess who was standing there with a smug look on his face.

"What do you want?" Christina asked, not daring to un-morph in case the need to fight rose again.

"I have a proposition for you, Gold Ranger." Zephron said, stepping forward.

"I don't want to hear about any deal you want to make with me, Zephron." Christina snapped.

"Ah, but you might want to hear about this one… Ghost, bring out the prisoners." Zephron said, looking sideways at his companion.

"Yes, my lord." The creature said. It vanished into the shadows, and returned with two Hibiku, who were standing side by side with two people that Christina had no trouble recognizing.

"No way…" Was all that she managed to say.

"Yes… Your aunt and uncle. Now… Will you listen to what I have to say, Gold Ranger?"

Christina said nothing; she didn't even notice the Blue Ranger walking up to stand next to her.

"My proposition is this: You surrender, and your parents are as free as a bird. But if you don't, then I keep your parents as eternal prisoners in the depths of Hades… Or at least, until you change your mind." Zephron said slowly.

There were several moments of silence during which none of them said anything. Then, quite suddenly, everyone surrounding the Gold Ranger could sense a great power steadily rising from her.

"What's this?" Zephron looked at the Gold Ranger. There was a line of Gold light all around her, and it started to pulse.

"You will leave the innocent out of this, Zephron." The Gold Ranger said. Her anger and fury could be felt even by the hostage couple, which were mortals. The light around the Gold Ranger increased in its intensity, and expanded from her in a giant wave, and it quickly overcame Zephron and the alien called Ghost.

"You two, get away from here, as quickly as you can." The Gold Ranger said, but her voice was different this time. It was almost childlike, yet there was a strong sense of otherworldly wisdom in it. "Blue Ranger, make sure they get to safety."

"No way, I'm not leaving you to deal with these idiots on your own." The Blue Ranger objected immediately as the Gold Ranger got into a fighting position, while reaching for her swords' handles.

Within the clearing, Zephlin smiled to himself at Spike's unwillingness to leave the scene. Zephlin could now see what had worried Jacquie about Christina. That voice that came from her now was completely different, and he recognized it from somewhere.

Zephlin's phoenix sat lightly on his right shoulder; it ruffled its feathers and let out a screech that made him wince, because it was right by his ear.

"Yes, I know, my friend. But the others will only get in their way of learning to cooperate with each other. We will wait until it is absolutely necessary to call them." Zephlin patted the phoenix on the beak lightly.

"You do not need to worry about me. Get those two out of here and return when they are safe." The Gold Ranger turned her head towards the Blue Ranger; her voice was still that of a small child that was wiser than it looked. "I will take care of the big, dumb and uglies' over there."

"But-" The Blue Ranger began to object again.

"Do not worry." The Gold Ranger said almost as soon as he began to speak. "I'll take care of these two." She got into position to attack.

Zephron smiled, and a small chuckle escaped from the Gold Ranger as the Blue Ranger moved to take the hostage couple to safety.

At first, Christina didn't know what Zephron was smiling about, but in the next moment, Zephron had leapt into the air. When he moved into the light, Christina saw that he wore a black shirt, black pants and shoes. He also wore a black leather tailcoat that made him seem almost bird-like as he leapt into the air.

She prepared to block the sword that he unsheathed as he came back towards the ground.

The Blue Ranger easily knocked the strange-looking alien and the two Hibiku out of the way.

"Come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe." He said to the couple as he demolished the glowing rope by touching his staff to it.

"Will the child be alright?" The woman asked.

"She'll be fine." The Blue Ranger answered, leading them to a corner of the street. "You'll be safe here," He then turned his head sharply when he heard several smaller explosions. "I've gotta go help if I can."

Zephron had expected his and the Gold Rangers' swords to clash, but instead, his sword made contact with the soft earth.

"You know it's amazing the things you can do with light." The Gold Ranger said, now several feet from him, her swords sheathed. She then reached for her blasters and pulled them out of their holsters. "Light can do good and bring life, but it can also do evil and bring destruction."

"Enough with the petty speeches already!" Zephron said, whirling around in his fury and humiliation at being tricked by one of the oldest in the book.

"What? You're allowed one and I'm not? That's hardly fair." The Gold Ranger said, clearly mocking him.

That childlike voice was getting on Zephron's nerves. He prepared for another attack with his sword, but this time she was ready with her blasters and fired several shots. The impact of the energy blasts caused Zephron to loose his balance and fall. He could feel one of the shots going into his shoulder and disabling any farther use of it for now.

"Fall back to our fortress." He ordered his followers. "Ghost, take care of little Goldilocks here." He snapped at the cloaked alien.

"Yes, my master." The creature bowed its head, and Zephron and the Hibiku vanished.

"Coward." The Gold Ranger could be heard muttering.

"I'll get you yet, Goldilocks." Zephron shot at the Gold Ranger before disappearing.

"That name is going to get really annoying." The Gold Ranger said after Zephron had left. The Gold Ranger could suddenly feel herself getting lightheaded and a little harder to focus on what she was doing. _Not now_. She thought desperately.

"What's the matter, Goldilocks, feeling a little under the whether?" Ghost asked.

"I'm the Gold Ranger, _not_ Goldilocks, for your information." Christina snapped, her voice returning to its' normal state. "And I'm feeling fine."

"Oh well… It's a shame… It would have made your passing easier for your friends if you had already been ill to begin with." Ghost stepped forward, "But I guess I'll just have to make you suffer even more."

_Why can't my health cooperate when I need it to most?_ Christina thought, very grateful that her helmet hid her face, and the creature called Ghost didn't have any reason or excuse to taunt her for that. She knew that as long as she could fake it and keep her poise and tone of voice firm as it always had been, she would do just fine. But with each passing moment, that status became harder to maintain.

Ghost raised his cloak up to the sky, making him look like a big black bird with ebony colored wings.

"_Wave of Destruction!_" He shouted, and a black wave rose from behind him and headed straight towards the Gold Ranger.

"_Shield of Memories!_" Christina yelled, holding her hands in front of her as though she was going to try and block the black wave by herself.

"Forget it, Gold Ranger! You'll never block my wave of destruction!" Ghost cackled maniacally. But he was wrong. A dome formed over the Gold Ranger and all she wanted to protect, and the wave of destruction was propelled upwards towards the sky.

Looking up, Christina could see that the moon was still out, and the wave of destruction made contact with it causing a small mushroom cloud of black smoke to rise from it for a few seconds. _Well, there's another crater added to it_. She thought.

"No! Impossible!" Ghost cried in dismay.

The Gold Ranger turned to face the creature.

"And now it's time to say hello to the devil." The Gold Ranger said, her childlike voice returning. Only now it sounded cruel, malevolent and merciless.

"Christina!" Spike said when he saw her unsheathing her swords slowly, despite the alien's cries for mercy.

"You won't have anything to tell to your master… Because you won't be around to tell him anything. Plead your case to the devil if you are so desperate." Christina was saying in her child like voice still, and she ran at Ghost, thrusting her blade through the armor that he wore, and through his flesh.

Spike actually found himself wincing at the sight as she pulled her swords from Ghost, and the creature collapsed, exploding on contact with the earth. But when she did not move even after the black spot that remained of Ghost faded away, he rushed over to her side.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Christina said. "Just a little tired… Where are my parents?" She asked, her voice returning to normal.

_What's happening to her?_ Spike wondered.

"Follow me." He found himself being repetitive today, and it annoyed him quite a bit. However, he did like the chance of being able to order her around even if it was for a bit.

The couple stood waiting at the edge of the street, and Christina breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you two alright?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you child." The woman said, walking over and wringing her hands. "And thank you, too." She said, walking over and wringing the Blue Rangers' hands. "We were so scared… But it is so good to see that a group of Power Rangers has come to protect the earth once again."

The Gold Ranger chuckled quietly.

"You two are quite welcome. Now… Are you ready to return to your home?" She asked.

"Yes, we really need to get back." The old man said.

"Alright." The Gold Ranger nodded. She raised her wrist and spoke into her communicator watch. "Zephlin, it's the Gold Ranger… can we teleport these two back to where they were taken from?"

"Yes, so long as you know where that is." Zephlin answered.

"Alright, thanks." The Gold Ranger moved her other hand to the watch.

"Thank you again, Power Rangers." The couple said.

"You're welcome." The two Rangers said, and the couple disappeared in two columns of light, reappearing at the bakery.

Back in the clearing, Zephlin smiled broadly at the others, whom he had summoned during the fight and forbidden them to help their friends.

"They are learning to cooperate." Zephlin told them. "In just a little more time, I think they will get along perfectly well."

"Zephlin, why are you so concerned that all of us get along?" Jacquie asked.

"Because it is imperative that we work as a team, as I have stated before… time and time again." Zephlin answered. "If we do not work as one, then we will not find the Crystal and the galaxy could fall to darkness."

The others remained silent after this incredible declaration.

"Spike, thanks for helping me." Christina said after de-morphing.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright? You look really pale." Spike said, following her example and de-morphing as well.

"I'm fine. Just a little too much for me to handle in one day." Christina said, starting to head back towards her home. "I'll see you later." She said.

"Alright, see you." Spike said, a little quieter than usual.

She did not see him watch her as she reached her door and walk into her home, letting her cats into the house.

Christina collapsed after she closed the door behind her. The room was spinning, and she could not find anything to grab that would be sturdy enough for her to hold onto. _Crap_. She thought. _Of all times for this to happen…_

"M-my Lord… I apologize for my abysmal failure." Izor said nervously as he tended to his masters' shoulder wound.

"That is alright, Izor… Your little escapade allowed me to see a very vulnerable foible within the Gold Ranger that we can use to our advantage next time." Zephron answered.

"My Lord?" Izor looked curiously up at his master as he started to heal his wound.

"She may be strong on the inside… But physically, she is very weak. You notice how she only uses her swords and blasters?" Zephron answered.

"Yes." Izor nodded.

"We can use _that_ to our advantage… Her physical strength is technically not very advanced even though she does know a few very effective moves… She tires easily. So now all we need to do is come up with an effective plan that will enable us to capture her at her weakest point."

"Yes, master." Izor bowed his head.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: The Labyrinth **

_A light is awakening on the blue planet_…

_What should we do about it?_

_Nothing… We wait until the moment has come_…

_Can this really be the light we have been waiting for?_

_We will wait and see_…

_Why must we wait and see? You've been so eager to bond with her and help her in her struggles…_

_She is only a child, she needs the help otherwise she would not have survived even her first battle against His forces._

_The Devil has put this curse on us himself? Is it true that we have to wait to bond with them…? _

_ Yes, otherwise things could go horribly wrong… But the light that is awakening has matured a great deal so fast already… I will be able to bond with her sooner than expected… He will have to send the five lights to the source of their creations before we bond, however… _

_ Of course… let us meet them there then. _

_ We will help guide them to their paths of destiny._

_ We will go to the place of their creation and meet them there._

Christina heard the voices and opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor in the hallway where she had collapsed earlier. How long had she been lying there? She sat up. Her dizziness and light-headed ness was gone. She remembered only parts of the last battle against Zephron, while other parts of her memory were black and deep, reminding her strangely of one of Hell's pits, even though she had never been there and she never wanted to go there.

She sighed and walked into the kitchen, thinking that a little water might help her recuperate better. _What is happening to me? Lately I feel like someone else is trying to get inside me… or is trying to reach outward to the world… Zephlin has answered a lot of questions for us, but there is still a lot that I do not understand_… _Oh well. Even if I don't understand all of it, I still promised to help him and I'm going to do just that._

A few days later, Christina was walking down the main street of the town, and saw that a new shop had recently opened. Today, she wore a dark blue sweater, dark blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. She had her back pack slung over her shoulder, and her hair hung loose over her shoulders. She decided to walk in, and found that a few customers were already in there.

"Hello!" A familiar voice said cheerfully.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Christina smiled at the speaker. It was none other than Runri. "Where's your sister?"

"She's at the back in the kitchen doing some cooking." Runri said.

"So I see you two decided to open up a restaurant?" Christina looked around.

"Café, more or less." Runri grinned proudly. "Took us a while to get all the legal permits and whatnot and save up the money, but we're doing alright here." Runri led Christina to a booth at a corner close to the kitchen. "Zephron hasn't come for us yet, but we're waiting." She added in a lower tone of voice. "We would have helped you in your last fight, but you did just fine on your own with the Blue Ranger's help."

Christina nodded, taking the menu that Runri had offered her and setting her backpack underneath the table.

"By the way, Yuki and I both wanted to thank you for helping to set us free, so this meals' on the house." Runri said.

"I didn't do anything." Christina said with a funny sort of smile. "All I did was give you that nudge out of the door that you needed. You did the rest on your own."

"Even so, we are very grateful for your help. Without you, we'd still be serving under _His_ name." Runri pointed out. "So the meal's on us… and you'll always be welcome here. Just give me a holler when you're ready to order."

Christina sighed, shaking her head as Runri left to take care of some of the newer customers.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were sick." Spike's voice came from behind her.

Christina felt a twinge of frustration and annoyance towards him as he joined her at the table.

"I told you I was fine, Spike." She said irritably.

"Said the pot calling the kettle black." Spike leaned into the chair he was sitting in. "So how's the assignment for English coming along?" He asked, trying to strike a decent conversation with her at the very least.

"It's going okay. I'm almost finished with it." Christina said, looking through the menu. "Say, How did you know I was in here in the first place, Spike?"

"I saw you come in, that's how." Spike answered.

Runri came over.

"You ready to order?" She asked.

"Yes… I'll have your number nine and a diet Pepsi." Christina answered, handing Runri back the menu.

"Alright, it'll be twenty minutes or so then." Runri said before heading into the kitchen.

_Joy_. Christina thought unenthusiastically. She then looked over at Spike.

"Spike, why have you always picked on me?" She asked.

This was clearly a question Spike had not expected, for he suddenly choked and stuttered for a few moments before regaining his composure again.

"Um… Well… That is because…" Spike began, but a loud rumbling that came from the earth interrupted him. He had a highly relieved look on his face for a few moments before he said, "Let's go check it out."

She nodded, and the two went outside followed closely by Runri and Yuki.

A tower seemed to have sprouted suddenly right from the earth on one of the hills that surrounded the town.

"Looks like that's where the Library was…" Christina said out loud, she took a step forward when Spike grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait… What if it's a trap?" He asked.

"Well, let's just go drop in and say hi. Then we can make like banana's and split if there's nothing wrong." She said with a sarcastic smile.

Spike rolled his eyes.

"Nice." He muttered. "Well then, let's go."

"You two stay here," Christina said to Runri and Yuki. "I don't want you getting anymore involved than you absolutely have to, okay?"

"Okay, good luck." Runri and Yuki said with a nod of their heads.

"Thanks…" Christina then prepared to morph after checking that the coast was clear. "Elysion Gold Ranger, Transform!"

"Elysion Blue Ranger, Transform!" Spike said shortly after.

Runri and Yuki had to turn their heads, as there was a flash of gold, then blue light that nearly blinded them. The Gold and Blue Rangers said their goodbyes, and headed towards the tower. They found it to be as Christina had said; only it seemed to have sprouted right from the Library itself.

"Oh no…" The Gold Ranger could be heard muttering. What concerned her wasn't the state of the books in the Library, but the Librarians themselves that she knew particularly well since her childhood. The Gold Ranger rushed inside before giving her actions a second thought.

"Christina!" The Blue Ranger shouted. "Crap…" He grumbled, he then raised his wrist and spoke into his communicator. "Guys, get to the County Library pronto… Something funky happened to it and I don't like the feel of things."

"What about Christina?" Zephlin answered.

"She's already inside checking things out." Spike said after a moment of silence.

"We'll get there as soon as we can." Ray said before Zephlin could say anything.

Inside the building, things were in total disarray. Thousands of books lay scattered around the floor and bookshelves as well were upturned. Artifacts donated by museums were on the floor, and as Christina slowly picked her favorite one up and placed it on a shelf that was still standing, she looked around what remained of one of her favorite places in town. The artifact that had been her favorite was a small model of a golden pirate ship from China.

"Is someone there?" An old woman's voice called.

"Jocelyn?" Christina called.

"Christina?" Jocelyn answered.

"Where are you? Are you alright?" Christina followed the voice of one of the Librarians.

"I'm alright… I'm in the Junior Readers' division…" Jocelyn answered.

The Gold Ranger rushed over and helped the old woman to her feet.

"Christina? Is that really you?" Jocelyn asked the Gold Ranger.

"Yes… But don't tell anyone, promise?" Christina asked, and Jocelyn nodded after a few moments.

"How did this happen?" Jocelyn asked, looking around. "One minute I was organizing a few books, the next the Library is uprooted."

"Were the other Librarians off today?" Christina asked.

"No… They were at lunch." Jocelyn said.

"My God… What happened here?" Ray's voice came from the entrance.

"Is it World War Three or what?" The Red Ranger asked.

"Clamp it, you!" The Green Ranger snapped suddenly at the Red Ranger.

Christina chuckled and shook her head.

"Jocelyn, I want you to wait outside while my friends and I check things out." She instructed. "Tell the other Librarians to stay outside until we come back."

"Okay…" Jocelyn nodded and idled her way outside, still feeling a little shaken up at what happened.

"Eric, I want you to make sure she stays safe, understand?" Christina asked.

"Gotcha." The Red Ranger nodded and hurried after the elderly woman.

"We're lucky there weren't any casualties." The Green Ranger said, looking around. He saw the Golden Chinese Pirate Ship on the desk.

The Gold Ranger moved cautiously towards the blackest part of the area, where the tower had suddenly appeared as the Blue Ranger filled the others in as to what had happened. She looked upward, and saw that the tower seemed to reach beyond the heavens. She unsheathed one of her swords and touched the blade to the tower.

Immediately, the books all seemed to rise from the ground, and the shelves and artifacts seemed to straighten themselves up.

"What the heck…" The Silver Ranger looked around as the books, shelves and artifacts all straightened themselves up quite suddenly.

"Christina, what's your status?" The White Ranger asked.

"I'm at the base of the tower… It just seems to go up for ages…" She added, looking up. "I'm not going to risk sending a light signal… Something doesn't feel right about all this." She said after a few moments. "Just make your way towards the tower and I'll wait for you."

"Okay… Just stay put then." Zephlin's voice said.

"Roger that…" Christina automatically answered with a nod.

There was suddenly a soft chuckling that seemed to surround her, and she quickly got into position to defend herself.

"You think you can escape from this maze, Rangers… Then you are gravely mistaken… One of you will not make it out alive." The voice said, and Christina recognized it at once.

"Zephron…!" She said out loud.

"How quaint… You remember me… Perhaps then you remember my friends?" Zephron's voice said sarcastically.

In front of her appeared a particularly large army of Hibiku soldiers. She unsheathed her other sword, and looked at the soldiers for a few moments. _Just lifeless shells…_ She thought with a hint of sadness before running head-on into the soldiers with her swords.

The sound of sword battled echoed back at the remaining Rangers, and that told them to move faster.

"Spike, go topside and see if you can find her." Ray said.

Spike leapt to the top of the bookshelf and looked around. The echoing sound of sword battle led his eyes to the base of the tower, where he saw a group of Hibiku surrounding one figure fighting with only two swords.

"I see her… The enemy's' attacking her…" He said.

"Go ahead of us then, we'll follow on the ground." Zephlin instructed.

"Right." The Blue Ranger nodded, repositioning his staff in his hands before leaping ahead atop of the bookshelves, being very careful not to knock any of them over. _Hang in there_… He thought as he hurried forward.

The Gold Ranger used her _Solar Eclipse Meteor Shower_ attack, but to little effect.

"Guess it doesn't work as well if I'm indoors…" She said out loud. The remaining Hibiku laughed maniacally as more soon came. She then realized that it was becoming harder for her to breathe again, and backed up against a bookshelf before getting an idea. She gave a smile that no one saw because of her helmet. She took a deep breath, before whirling around and slashing at the bookshelf, causing it to break apart and collapse on top of the Hibiku warriors that had closed in on her as she had been deep in thought.

"You'd think whoever read all of these books would be teaching a class based on evil by now at school…" Jacquie stated as they ran towards the center of the maze.

There was a loud crashing noise nearby that made the group pause.

"Sounds like she's having fun." Ray shrugged, though his voice was totally sarcastic in its sound and purpose.

The Gold Ranger heard movement behind her and whirled around in time to see a Hibiku rise from the pile of slashed-up books, but it was stopped in its own movements by a familiar staff.

"How did you get here so fast?" She asked the Blue Ranger when the enemy soldier had collapsed.

"I took the express." He answered.

"Cute." Christina shook her head in an almost helpless manner. "So, what do we do about this?" She looked at the tower.

"Wait for the others, then we decide what to do." Spike told her.

"But if we wait any longer, more people could get hurt." Christina pointed out.

"Great… One with no brain, and one that is impulsive…" Ray said to the others as they neared the tower.

"What do you mean by that?" Zephlin asked curiously.

"What I mean is, Spike is the one that has no brain when it comes to combat… and Christina is just impulsive." Ray looked over at the White Ranger.

"I see." Zephlin answered, "We'd better hurry."

"Worst combination possible in a team…" Jacquie shook her head.

"We're almost there." Ray said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Jacquie paused for the briefest of moments.

"What is it?" Zephlin asked.

"Something's not right… I must be crazy… I thought I sensed a disturbance in the Space-Time Continuum." She said, looking around.

"That's not a good sign… We'd better hurry." Zephlin leapt up to the top of the bookshelves, imitating what the Blue Ranger had done. The others followed suit.

Christina was starting to feel impatient now.

"What's taking them so long…?" She grumbled, pacing. She didn't dare to sit still in one place in case the enemy decided to wake up again. There was a chill down her spine suddenly, and she stopped, looking around.

"What is it?" Spike asked.

"A disturbance in the Space-Time Continuum?" She said out loud in surprise.

"Come again, Professor?" Spike said sarcastically, though he really was confused.

Christina blinked, and everything seemed to stop moving. _What_? She looked around.

"Guys… What's your status?" She asked into her communicator. There was no response. "Where are you guys?" She lowered her wrist.

"Scared, little girl?" Zephron's taunting voice came from behind and she whirled around. "I have the power to manipulate time as I wish… You are seeing one thing while your friends experience another."

"Where are you?" She grumbled, jumping to the top of the nearest, still-standing bookshelf.

"Am I behind you… Or to your side…?" Zephron's taunting voice said.

"I don't have time for your games, Zephron!" Christina snapped.

Only Zephron's chuckle answered her this time.

The sound of wind met her ear, and she whirled around, her swords at the ready, but she was too slow. What appeared to be a black rope sprang from the tower and wrapped around her wrists.

"Too bad… You should have been the one to stay behind this time." Zephron's voice said, and he appeared behind the Gold Ranger, who struggled against the 'rope' as more came from the tower, wrapping around her neck, wrists and arms.

"Son of a-!" Christina found herself shouting as she closed her eyes, trying to pull away from the ropes that bound her.

"Christina—Ah, crap!" Spike's frustrated voice suddenly came from her left side.

Christina started hacking at the ropes with her swords, but the only thing that happened was the sound of static reverberating against the walls. The 'rope' suddenly started pulling her towards the tower.

"Why you son of a-!" The Blue Ranger whirled around with his staff, towards Zephron, who smiled. "Let her go!" He shouted.

"I can't do that." Zephron told the Blue Ranger flatly as the Gold Ranger faded into the tower, and the tower began to fade away.

"Zephron!" Zephlin's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"So long, brother." Zephron said, before vanishing with a smile just as the Blue Ranger prepared to attack him.

The tower, and Zephron vanished, taking the Gold Ranger with them. The surroundings returned to their original state, and the Red Ranger hurried over.

"What happened?" He asked. "Where'd you guys go?" He looked around. "And why are there only four of you now?"

"We'll explain back at the clearing." Zephlin said calmly.

"We're sorry about the mess…" The Green Ranger looked at Jocelyn.

"It's okay as long as no one was hurt. Where's the Gold Ranger?" Jocelyn asked.

"We've gotta go… Take care of things, will you?" The Blue Ranger said.

There was a different tone to his voice this time when he spoke.

"Yes, yes I will." Jocelyn nodded, and the Rangers all disappeared in flashes of Blue, Green, Red and White light…

"So she's really gone?" Eric said after Spike had explained all that had happened.

"Yes." Spike nodded, running his hand through his bangs impatiently.

"So Zephron has somehow gained control over the power to manipulate the Space-Time Continuum at a whim now…" Zephlin sighed.

"Who cares about that?" Spike snapped suddenly, sounding angry. "We need to get her out of… Wherever it was that he took her."

"Everything matters about this, Spike." Zephlin looked at him. "The fact that he can manipulate Time means it will be harder for us to get her back."

"But you won't do it alone." A voice that sounded familiar only to Jacquie said from the forest.

They turned to see another Power Ranger standing there beside the giant stone.

"Elione?" Jacquie asked.

This Power Rangers' main color was dark purple with yellow gold stripes. There was a golden crest on her chest just like Zephlin in his White Ranger uniform. This crest had a Chinese dragon encircling the planet Pluto and it's two moons.

"I'm sorry I could not be here sooner." The Purple Ranger said, walking forward and un-morphing. "But I encountered problems while traveling along the Space-Time stream."

Elione was twenty-eight years old; she wore a white shirt and a purple skirt that went to her knees. Her eyes were green, just like Christina's, but her hair was blonde and naturally wavy, flowing down almost to her waist.

"Who are you?" Eric asked.

"My name is Elione Hopkins… I am Christina's older sister." The woman said, looking at the group. "And I've come to help you." She looked at Jacquie. "I am the guardian of the Space-Time Continuum, and the guardian of the gates of the Underworld."

"Then can you explain how Zephron was able to use Time like how he did back there?" Spike demanded.

"Calm yourself." Elione said, looking at him.

"You're her sister!" Spike said. "And you weren't there to help?"

"It is forbidden for me to leave my post on Pluto… Unless it is for an emergency. It is my fault that I didn't see this danger ahead of time. Zephron has moved quicker than any of us could have expected… I am not sure how he managed to get a Key to Time."

"Uh… Key to Time?" Ray asked.

Elione reached for her pocket and pulled out what looked like a silver chain, with matching silver keys clipped to it. There appeared to be one that was missing on the end of the chain. Each key seemed to have a small ruby-sphere on it.

"Oh. You meant that literally." Eric blinked, and she nodded.

"We'll need to move quickly if we are to get my sister out of the danger I have allowed her to get in." Elione said. And quite unexpectedly, Jacquie's scythe appeared in Elione's right hand. "I thank you for looking after my Scythe. Now it must return to me… And I can use my powers properly here on Earth."

"So what do we do now?" Ray asked.

**So Comes an End to Part One of the journeys of the Rangers of Elysion… **


End file.
